How to Pay Suppliers in China Without SWIFT

Short answer: yes, you can pay Chinese suppliers without SWIFT. The main working channels are cross-border renminbi settlements via China's CIPS payment system, direct correspondent accounts with banks in mainland China and Hong Kong, licensed fintech providers, and payment agents. Each channel, however, comes with compliance nuances: since the United States introduced secondary sanctions risk, it is not the technology but the compliance department of each individual bank that makes the final call on whether a payment goes through. Below we break down how each method works, what documents you will need, and where the hidden pitfalls are.

Why paying China became a challenge: the 2024–2026 timeline

One key fact first: China does not prohibit trade with Russia. The restrictions do not come from Chinese regulators but from the compliance departments of individual banks that fear US secondary sanctions. As a result, the situation differs from bank to bank and shifts every few months.

• 22 December 2023 — the US President signed Executive Order 14114, authorizing sanctions against foreign financial institutions that conduct or facilitate significant transactions involving Russia's defence-industrial base. This document became the starting point for tighter compliance at Chinese banks.
• February 2024 — China's largest banks (ICBC, CCB, Bank of China), according to media reports, stopped accepting payments from sanctioned Russian banks regardless of the transmission channel — SWIFT, SPFS or CIPS (Izvestia via The Kyiv Independent, 21.02.2024).
• 12 June 2024 — OFAC expanded its sanctions lists, adding, among others, overseas structures of VTB and Sber (US Treasury press release).
• August 2024 — Reuters reported mass payment delays between Russia and China, with transactions worth billions of yuan stuck in limbo (The Moscow Times citing Reuters, 30.08.2024).
• July–August 2025 — the EU's 18th sanctions package targeted China's Heihe Rural Commercial Bank, which then halted settlements with Russia (Vedomosti, 01.09.2025). This showed that secondary-restriction risks are real even for small Chinese border-region banks.

The practical takeaway: "how to pay Chinese suppliers" is less a question of payment infrastructure — which exists and works — and more a question of compliance strategy: which bank to use, in which currency, with what document package, and through which corporate structure.

CIPS: the renminbi alternative to SWIFT

CIPS (Cross-border Interbank Payment System) is China's payment system for cross-border renminbi settlements, launched by the People's Bank of China (PBOC) in October 2015. The system combines payment messaging with real-time gross settlement (RTGS) based on the ISO 20022 standard; it is operated by CIPS Co. Ltd, registered in Shanghai (Statrys overview).

The system is scaling fast. According to PBOC data as of the end of September 2025, CIPS has over 1,700 direct and indirect participants, with coverage exceeding 5,000 banking entities across 189 countries; in 2024 it processed 175 trillion yuan in cross-border payments — up 43% year on year (PBOC, 09.01.2026). In June 2025, banks from Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia — including Bangkok Bank, Standard Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank and UOB — became direct CIPS participants for the first time (Shanghai government portal, 19.06.2025).

The yuan infrastructure is expanding more broadly as well: in the first half of 2025, cross-border RMB settlements reached 35 trillion yuan (+14% year on year), of which 6.4 trillion yuan related to goods trade — a record 28% share; by that time the PBOC had authorized RMB clearing banks in 33 countries (PBOC).

That said, CIPS should not be overestimated: it is not a full SWIFT replacement. First, the system is single-currency — settlements run only in renminbi. Second, many participants still rely on SWIFT for payment messaging: CIPS and SWIFT signed a memorandum to that effect back in 2016 (Vedomosti, 11.07.2022). In other words, CIPS is above all settlement infrastructure for the yuan, not a universal financial messaging network.

Russia–China settlements in national currencies: the current picture

De facto, Russia–China trade has already shifted to national currencies. According to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, the share of national currencies in bilateral settlements exceeded 90% in August 2024 (RBC), and in November 2025 he cited a figure of 99.1% (Kommersant). Bilateral trade turnover in 2024 reached $245 billion.

Among Russian banks, only VTB holds a full licence to operate in mainland China: its Shanghai branch has been active since 2008. However, on 12 June 2024 VTB was added to OFAC's SDN list; the branch continues to process CNY/RUB settlements, but USD and EUR transactions are unavailable (B1 review). This illustrates a general principle well: even a working channel must be re-verified as of today — banks' sanctions status and operating conditions change constantly.

On the Russian side, currency-control rules also apply: for import contracts worth 3 million rubles or more, the Russian importer must register the contract with its authorized bank. This is a standard procedure, but it should be factored into payment timelines.

Ways to pay Chinese suppliers without SWIFT: a comparison

Method	Best for	Advantages	Limitations and risks
Bank transfer in yuan (via CIPS / correspondent accounts)	Companies with a direct contract and an account at a bank that processes payments to China	Transparent legal channel, closing documents, scalability	The receiving bank's compliance decides the outcome; returns and delays are possible; major Chinese banks do not accept payments from sanctioned banks
China bank account or Hong Kong account (incl. RMB accounts)	Companies with an overseas corporate structure	Direct access to yuan infrastructure, predictable settlements	Extremely hard for Russian residents to open; screening against US/EU lists; maintaining a foreign company is required
Fintech providers (Airwallex, PingPong, WorldFirst)	Companies incorporated outside Russia (e.g., in Hong Kong)	Fast B2B payments, marketplace integrations, multi-currency accounts	Based on open sources, they do not work directly with Russian residents; a foreign entity is required
Payment agent	Russian companies without an overseas structure	You pay the agent's local entity in rubles; the agent settles with the supplier from abroad	Dependence on the intermediary's reliability; an agreement and closing documents are mandatory
Alipay / WeChat Pay	Tourists and small personal expenses	Convenience inside China	Not suitable for B2B: $5,000 per-transaction limit, no closing documents, currency-control risks

Bank accounts in mainland China and Hong Kong

A logical strategy for regular procurement is to open a China bank account or a Hong Kong account through an overseas company. Hong Kong plays a special role here: Bank of China (Hong Kong) has been the PBOC-designated RMB clearing bank for Hong Kong since 2003 and the first offshore direct participant of CIPS (since 2016). Through a Hong Kong structure, yuan payments to mainland suppliers run along well-established infrastructure.

The caveats are significant. It is extremely difficult for Russian residents to open a Hong Kong account: banks screen against US and EU sanctions lists, and Hong Kong companies that help circumvent sanctions themselves end up under OFAC measures — the 12 June 2024 package included Hong Kong-linked structures (US Treasury). A Hong Kong company therefore makes sense as a full-fledged operating business — with real activity, reporting and a clear origin of funds — rather than as a "transit shell". For more on choosing the jurisdiction, see "Hong Kong or Mainland China: Where to Register Your Company".

Fintech solutions: Airwallex, PingPong, WorldFirst

For companies incorporated outside Russia, there is a class of licensed B2B payment fintech providers:

• Airwallex — obtained a Chinese payment licence in March 2023 through the acquisition of Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong (Airwallex press release).
• PingPong — a B2B-focused provider holding, by its own account, more than 60 licences worldwide and over $250 billion in processed payments (PR Newswire).
• WorldFirst (part of Ant Group) — launched WorldTrade, a B2B procurement payment solution, in April 2024 and is the official payment partner of the wholesale marketplace 1688.com (Morningstar / Business Wire).

An important caveat: based on open sources, these providers do not work directly with Russian residents — they are solutions for companies incorporated outside Russia, for example in Hong Kong. If your procurement is structured through a foreign entity, fintech providers can be a convenient complement to a bank account.

Payment agents: how the model works and what to watch for

The payment-agent model works as follows: you transfer rubles to the agent's Russian legal entity, and the agent pays the Chinese supplier's invoice from its overseas structure (typically in Hong Kong, the UAE or Turkey). According to Reuters reporting in April 2024, up to half of Russia's payments to China at that time were routed through intermediaries (AML Intelligence citing Reuters).

If you are considering this channel, here is a minimum safety checklist:

• an agency agreement specifying the subject matter, fees, timelines and the parties' liability;
• a full set of closing documents for each transaction (acts, agent reports, proof of payment to the supplier);
• due diligence on the agent: registration of the legal entities, reputation, a real office and a track record;
• an understanding that the ultimate risk of non-performance towards your supplier remains with you.

Alipay and WeChat Pay: why they are not B2B tools

The idea of paying an invoice directly to a supplier's Alipay or WeChat Pay wallet comes up regularly. For business settlements it does not work, for several reasons:

• Limits. For foreign users, the PBOC set limits in March 2024 of $5,000 per transaction and $50,000 per year (English-language portal of China's State Council) — insufficient for commercial shipments.
• Intended use. These limits are designed for tourist spending. A corporate account requires a Chinese-incorporated company.
• Documents and law. A transfer to a supplier's personal wallet produces no closing documents and creates a risk of violating currency legislation.

Where Alipay and WeChat Pay can legitimately fit into a business setup — and how to connect them properly — is covered in "Alipay and WeChat Pay for Business".

Currency controls: requirements for the supplier and for you

Even a perfectly structured payment will fail if currency-control requirements on either side are not met.

The Chinese supplier's side. The exporting company must be listed in the registry of trade foreign-exchange enterprises (贸易外汇收支企业名录) maintained under the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE). Since 1 June 2024, registration in this registry has been delegated from SAFE to banks and, according to the regulator, takes about 15 minutes (SAFE notice 汇发〔2024〕11号 — State Council portal). Before your first deal, confirm that the supplier is on the registry — this is a basic element of due diligence.

Checks by Chinese banks. Before processing a payment, Chinese banks request a full document package: the contract, commercial invoice, customs declaration, certificate of origin and logistics documents. The more transparent the transaction, the higher the chance the payment goes through without delays.

The Russian importer's side. For imports worth 3 million rubles or more, the contract must be registered with your bank. If settlements run through a foreign company, that entity has its own reporting obligations — see "Zero Reporting for Foreign Companies" for when a foreign company may file a nil return.

Practical recommendations

1. Move to yuan. RMB settlements via CIPS and correspondent accounts are the main legal channel that does not depend on SWIFT. Agree on yuan-denominated invoicing with your supplier.
2. Verify the banking chain before paying. Ask your bank to confirm it can execute a payment to the specific receiving bank, and agree on the document package in advance.
3. Prepare the full document set upfront. Contract, invoice, customs declaration, certificate of origin, logistics — the faster you respond to compliance queries, the shorter the delay.
4. Diversify your channels. Banks' policies differ and change quickly; a backup route (a second bank, an agent, an overseas structure) reduces operational risk.
5. Do not use "grey" wallets for B2B. Paying a supplier's personal Alipay/WeChat account creates risk for both sides of the deal.
6. Document your work with agents. An agreement, closing documents and counterparty checks are the mandatory minimum.

Frequently asked questions