How to transfer money from Malaysia to China with Alipay

What is Alipay?

Alipay is part of the huge Alibaba group, and offers online, mobile and in store digital payments. It’s becoming more and more common to use Alipay in Malaysia, with many merchants accepting Alipay payments, particularly in popular tourist locations.

You can also use Alipay’s digital wallet to send or receive payments. The services which are available do depend on where you are, and whether or not you have a Chinese Mainland Resident ID card.

Generally, if you’re an Alipay international user, based outside of China, you can not use Alipay to send or receive international transfers yourself. However, if you’re looking for a convenient way to send a payment to someone based in China, using a third party service to send money to Alipay could be easy and cheap for both you and the recipient.

Want to learn more about different payment methods in Malaysia? Get out guide to using WeChat Pay in Malaysia here.

How do I send money to an Alipay account?

Chances are that as a Malaysian resident you won’t be able to send money from your Alipay wallet to someone else’s Alipay wallet. However, you can still have your payment deposited into your recipient’s Alipay wallet using a service like Wise, Western Union or WorldRemit.

These third party providers can allow you to pay for your transfer by bank transfer or FPX, or with a card, and send the money for deposit to an Alipay account for convenience.

Let’s look at an example. Wise has partnered with Alipay to provide the option of sending payments to Alipay wallets in CNY using your card, bank transfer or a local payment method like PayNow.

Here’s a step by step example of how to send money to an Alipay account with Wise, to give you an idea of the process:

1. Log in to your Wise account online or in app

2. Enter the amount you want to transfer to CNY

3. Select Alipay as the receive method

4. Confirm the recipient’s name and Alipay ID

5. Enter the reason for payment and confirm your details

6. Pay for your transfer using your preferred method

7. Your recipient will get a push notification from Alipay with the URL to receive the transfer

3 Ways to send money from Malaysia to Alipay Users in China

Let’s highlight some great options if you need a provider to help you send a payment to an Alipay account in China. You’ll be able to compare the features and fees of each, to see which is best for your own specific transfer.

Wise

Send payments to 160+ countries, including China, with Wise. You can have your money deposited into an Alipay wallet, or choose a bank deposit or a payment to another popular local wallet like WeChat Pay. Wise uses the mid-market exchange rate with low, transparent fees for transfers, and will give you a delivery estimate before you confirm your payment. That makes it easy to see what you’re paying, what your recipient will get, and when it should arrive.

Best Features:

• Transfer with the mid-market exchange rate and low fees

• Transfers can arrive very quickly, depending on the payment method you select

• Other options to send to China include bank transfer and WeChat Pay transfer

WorldRemit

WorldRemit allows customers to send money to Alipay in minutes, provided the recipient has enabled their app to receive remittances. Both the sender and recipient will get status update messages on their phones so you’ll know where your money is, and when it arrives in the recipient’s Alipay account. To get a quote for fees and exchange rates you’ll need to download the WorldRemit app and register an account.

Best Features:

• Send up to 50,000 CNY per payment

• Some transfers arrive in Alipay in minutes

• Sender and recipient get a notification to confirm when payment arrives

Western Union

As one of the biggest money transfer services in the world, it’s no surprise that Western Union has handy ways to send money from Malaysia to Alipay accounts in China. You can pay by card, bank transfer (FPX) or using your own e-wallet if you would like to. Your money is then delivered to your recipient’s Alipay account safely.

Best Features:

• Large and well known name in money transfer, with a huge agent network

• Arrange your payment online or in app conveniently

• Other methods available include deposit in bank accounts and Wechat Pay accounts, and cash collection in China

How much can I send to an Alipay account?

Each provider will set its own limits, and there are also Alipay limits which may impact the value of transfers you can make to Alipay accounts in China.

To give an example, Wise and WorldRemit both limit the amount you can send to Alipay to 50,000 CNY, while Alipay’s restrictions mean a user can only receive 5 payments a month from Wise or similar providers like Western Union. Annual limits on the amount your recipient can get are also likely to apply - usually 500,000 CNY per year in eligible transactions .

Check the limits of the provider you select, and ask the person you’re sending money to, to check their own limits as well, to make sure your payment can be processed hassle free.

What currencies can I send from?

When you send a payment to Alipay it will be received in CNY. However, you’re likely to be able to pay for your transfer in a broad selection of currencies, depending on the specific provider you pick. WorldRemit and Western Union don’t specify their full list of available currencies for transfer to Alipay, while Wise states you can pay in 25 different currencies.