general sourcing / Buying guide
Paying on 1688 without Alipay
1688 checkout requires Alipay linked to a mainland bank account and, for most sellers, a verified Chinese identity. A foreign card will be declined at checkout even if Alipay accepts it for other things.
Every workable route ends the same way: you pay a third party in your own currency, and they settle domestically in renminbi.
In this guide
What does not work
- Foreign credit cards at 1688 checkout — declined by the seller-side payment flow, not by your bank.
- PayPal — 1688 does not accept it in any form.
- International Alipay accounts — these are built for travel spending, not domestic B2B settlement.
- Wire transfer to the seller — most 1688 sellers have no facility to receive foreign currency.
What does work
Paying an agent. You send them the amount in your currency by card, PayPal, or bank transfer, and they pay the seller from a domestic account. This is the route essentially all foreign buyers use.
For large or repeat orders, some buyers open a Hong Kong company account, which can settle to the mainland at better rates. That is worth doing at scale and pointless below it.
Things to check on the invoice
- The exchange rate applied, and whether a margin is built into it.
- Whether the payment covers goods only, or goods plus domestic freight.
- Whether the service fee is calculated before or after domestic freight.
- What currency the refund would be issued in if the order fails.
Questions & answers
Common questions
- Can I use Wise or Payoneer?
- To pay an agent, yes, and often at a better rate than a card. To pay a 1688 seller directly, no.
- Is paying an agent safe?
- It carries counterparty risk, which is why the first order should be small. Card and PayPal payments retain some chargeback recourse that a bank transfer does not.
Your next step
Have a link you want checked?
Send a 1688 or Taobao product link and you get back the specification in English, the supplier check, and the landed cost to your country before you commit to anything.
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