How to Pay on 1688: Alipay, Cards, Agents and Fees
Quick answer: To pay on 1688 from outside China, link a foreign Visa or Mastercard to a verified Alipay account, use 1688's cross-border card checkout where shown, or pay through a cross-border service such as WorldFirst. Most overseas buyers simply pay a sourcing agent, who pays the seller in yuan. PayPal is not accepted at 1688 checkout.
Last updated: 26 October 2026.
Key takeaways
1688 checkout runs on Alipay. Every direct payment route ends in Alipay or an Alipay-connected partner. There is no PayPal button.
Foreign cards work through Alipay, with a fee. Payments above 200 RMB carry a 3% service charge on the whole amount, plus any foreign-transaction fee from your bank.
Card checkout is not shown to everyone. It depends on account, region and listing, so treat it as a bonus, not a plan.
Companies have a better option. Cross-border payment services settle in yuan without a Chinese bank account and suit repeat bulk orders.
Who pays decides who is protected. If an agent pays, the order and any dispute rights sit with the agent's account, not yours.
Why is paying on 1688 harder than on Alibaba.com?
1688.com is Alibaba Group's wholesale marketplace for buyers inside mainland China. Its checkout was built for Chinese buyers. It assumes an Alipay account linked to a Chinese bank card, a mainland delivery address, and prices in yuan (RMB). Alibaba.com, the export marketplace, accepts cards, bank transfer and other international methods. 1688 was never designed that way.
That is why the same factory can be easy to pay on Alibaba.com and hard to pay on 1688. The trade-off is price. 1688 listings often run well below equivalent export listings, as our breakdown of the 1688 vs Alibaba price difference shows. Payment is the toll you pay to get that lower price.
Two problems usually get mixed up here. Payment is one: how the seller receives yuan. Delivery is the other: who receives the parcel inside China and ships it abroad. This guide covers payment. For the full setup, including forwarders and accounts, see how to buy from 1688 outside China.
How do you pay on 1688? The four routes compared
Each route answers the same question in a different way: who turns your money into yuan for the seller. The table below compares them on the points that matter when you order.
Payment route | Who you pay | Typical extra cost | Who holds the order | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alipay + foreign card | The seller, through Alipay | 3% on payments over 200 RMB, plus bank FX fee | You | Individuals placing small to mid orders |
1688 cross-border card checkout | The seller, at checkout | Card and FX fees | You | Buyers whose account and listing show the option |
Cross-border payment service (e.g. WorldFirst, Cross-Border Pay) | The seller, via a licensed partner | Service and FX margin | Your company | Registered businesses with repeat orders |
Sourcing agent | The agent (PayPal, card or wire) | About 3–10% commission | The agent | First orders, many suppliers, no Chinese address |
PayPal at 1688 checkout | — | — | — | Not available |
Route 1: Alipay with a foreign Visa or Mastercard
Alipay lets foreign users link an international Visa or Mastercard after real-name verification with a passport. Once the card is linked, you can log in to 1688 with your Alipay account and pay like a domestic buyer. You still need a Chinese delivery address, usually a freight forwarder's warehouse.
The cost is simple. Payments of 200 RMB or less carry no Alipay fee. Larger payments carry a 3% service charge on the whole amount, so a 1,000 RMB order costs 1,030 RMB, according to Wise's guide to Alipay card fees. Your bank may add its own foreign-transaction fee on top. Travel guides also report per-payment and annual limits for foreign cards. A single large supplier invoice can therefore hit a cap, as noted in Trip.com's setup guide.
Route 2: 1688 cross-border card checkout
Some accounts that visit 1688 from abroad see an option to pay by international card directly at checkout. When it appears, it is the shortest route, and the order stays in your name. It is not shown on every account, region or listing, and coverage changes. Check it on a small test order before you plan a sourcing run around it.
Route 3: Cross-border payment services for companies
Registered businesses can pay 1688 sellers through licensed cross-border payment partners. WorldFirst, for example, has worked with 1688 since 2019. Its service lets overseas buyers pay sellers without a mainland bank account, as described in WorldFirst's announcement. 1688's own Cross-Border Pay programme follows the same idea, with company documents reviewed before you can pay. Setup takes days rather than minutes. For a business that reorders the same products every month, it is usually the cleanest long-term route.
Route 4: Paying a sourcing agent
An agent takes payment from you by PayPal, card or wire. It then pays the seller in yuan from its own Alipay account and handles the domestic delivery. This removes almost every payment problem, which is why most first-time buyers start here. The cost is a commission, typically a few percent, plus handling and storage fees. Our 1688 agent fee comparison shows how to compare these on landed cost rather than headline percentage.
Which 1688 payment method should you choose?
Choose by order size and how often you reorder, not by which method sounds easiest. Use this quick diagnostic before your first order:
Do you have a Chinese delivery address? If not, an agent solves payment and delivery together. Start there.
Is the order under about $150? Alipay with a foreign card is usually cheapest. The 3% charge is small at this size, and you keep the order in your own name.
Are you a registered company reordering monthly? Set up a cross-border payment service. The setup time pays back over repeat orders.
Do you buy from five or more suppliers per shipment? An agent's consolidation usually beats paying each seller yourself.
Does your account show card checkout? Test it on one small order. If it works, it can replace Alipay card linking for that listing.
One more factor matters: who holds the order. If you pay through your own account, refund requests and disputes go through you. If an agent pays, the agent's account holds the order. A problem then depends on the agent's willingness to chase the seller. For valuable or custom orders, that difference can matter more than a few percent in fees.
Why does my card get declined on 1688 or Alipay?
Card declines are the most common reason a direct 1688 payment fails. Work through these causes in order:
Unverified Alipay account. Foreign cards usually cannot be linked until passport verification is complete.
Bank fraud block. Many banks block a first payment to a Chinese merchant. Approve it in your banking app, or call the bank and retry.
Limit reached. A large invoice can exceed foreign-card limits. Ask the seller to split the order into separate orders, or switch to a business route.
Card type not supported. Some prepaid and virtual cards are refused. A standard credit card works most reliably.
Listing not open to cross-border checkout. If card checkout disappears on one product, that listing may not support it. Pay via Alipay or an agent instead.
If three attempts fail, stop retrying. Repeated declines can trigger further risk checks on the Alipay account. Switching to an agent for that order is usually faster than fighting the block.
Can you get cashback when you pay on 1688?
Yes, on qualifying orders placed and paid from your own 1688 account. Once your payment route works, the next margin lever is what you recover after paying. Refundy returns up to 3% on eligible 1688 orders. 1688 cashback is not switched on automatically: you activate it once by contacting Refundy support. After activation, click the cashback button before you pay so the order is tagged. If an agent pays from its own account, the order is not tagged to you, so cashback mainly suits Routes 1–3. The AliExpress cashback guide explains how the same mechanism works on AliExpress (up to 11%) and Alibaba.com (up to 9%).
Frequently asked questions
Can I use PayPal on 1688?
No. 1688 checkout does not accept PayPal. If you want to pay by PayPal, use a sourcing agent that accepts it; the agent then pays the seller in yuan. Alipay with a foreign card is the main direct alternative.
Can foreigners use Alipay to pay on 1688?
Yes. Alipay lets foreign users link an international Visa or Mastercard after passport verification. You can then log in to 1688 with that Alipay account. Payments above 200 RMB carry a 3% service charge, and you still need a Chinese delivery address such as a forwarder's warehouse.
Is it safe to pay sellers directly on 1688?
Paying through 1688 checkout is safer than paying a seller outside the platform. Checkout keeps a record of the order and gives you access to the platform's dispute process. Never pay a 1688 seller by direct bank transfer to a personal account. If the seller insists, treat it as a warning sign.
What is the cheapest way to pay on 1688 from abroad?
For small orders, Alipay with a foreign card is usually cheapest: no fee up to 200 RMB and 3% above it. For repeat business orders, a cross-border payment service often wins on FX rates. Agents cost more per order but include delivery handling.
Do I get cashback if my agent pays for the order?
Usually not. Cashback is tagged to the account that clicks the cashback button and pays. If an agent pays from its own 1688 account, the order belongs to the agent. To earn 1688 cashback, which needs one-time activation through support, pay from your own account.
Images: Photo by rupixen on Unsplash; Photo by SumUp on Unsplash.
Refundy is a free Chrome extension that gives cashback on AliExpress, Alibaba.com, 1688 and Taobao. 1688 cashback requires one-time activation via support. Cashback excludes shipping, fees, taxes and split payments — see the cashback terms for details.