To send money from Japan to China, Remitly gave CNY 4,223 and SBI Remit CNY 4,208 on our ¥100,000 sample. Fees, rates, Alipay, WeChat and limits, October 2026.
As of October 2026, Remitly gave the most yuan on our ¥100,000 sample to a UnionPay bank card: CNY 4,223 after a ¥400 fee, for a returning customer paying by bank transfer. SBI Remit gave CNY 4,208, Western Union CNY 4,197 and Wise CNY 4,175. Remitly and Wise pay to Alipay and Weixin (WeChat); SBI Remit and Western Union pay to WeChat. UnionPay card transfers are capped at about USD 5,000 each and USD 50,000 a year per recipient.
To send money from Japan to China, use a registered money transfer company (資金移動業者) from its app or website. On our sample of ¥100,000 sent on October 24, 2026, Remitly gave CNY 4,223 to a UnionPay bank card after a ¥400 fee, and SBI Remit gave CNY 4,208. Western Union and Wise gave a little less. Remitly and Wise also pay to Alipay and Weixin (WeChat). You need your residence card (在留カード) and My Number (個人番号), as of October 2026.
We priced ¥100,000 paid in total by bank transfer, using quotes captured between 23:01 and 23:03 JST on Saturday, October 24, 2026. Where a provider adds the fee on top, we took it out of the ¥100,000 first. Wise’s mid-market rate at that moment was 1 JPY = 0.0425264 CNY, so ¥100,000 was worth CNY 4,252.64. Rates change every day.
| Provider | Fee | Rate (1 JPY =) | Recipient gets (bank card) | Total cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remitly | ¥400 | 0.04240 CNY | CNY 4,223.04 | 0.70% |
| SBI Remit | ¥460 | 0.042273 CNY | CNY 4,207.85 | 1.05% |
| Western Union | ¥800 | 0.0423036 CNY | CNY 4,196.52 | 1.32% |
| Wise | ¥1,831 | 0.0425264 CNY | CNY 4,174.77 | 1.83% |
Total cost compares what arrives with ¥100,000 at the mid-market rate. Remitly’s figure is the regular price for a returning customer. New customers paid no fee and got a promotional rate of 0.04280 CNY on the first ¥100,000, which gave CNY 4,280, slightly above the mid-market rate.
SBI Remit publishes a separate rate for WeChat: 0.042437 CNY with a ¥750 fee, which gave CNY 4,211.87, a little more than its bank rate. Western Union charged the same ¥800 for its WeChat wallet, at the bank rate. Its cash pickup cost ¥1,480 and gave CNY 4,168.07.
| Provider | Fee for ¥100,000 | Payouts |
|---|---|---|
| Seven Bank with Western Union | ¥990 bank, ¥1,950 cash | Bank (yuan), cash pickup (US dollars) |
| Japan Post Bank | ¥3,000, plus possible intermediary charges | Bank |
KYODAI Remittance (now Ria Kyodai, part of Ria Money Transfer) also sends to China in yuan. We didn’t price it at our sample time, so it isn’t scored; check its estimator on the day.
We score each provider with a full price on the sample, using our remittance method: total cost (30%), speed (15%), payout options (15%), sign-up for foreigners (15%), support (10%) and regulation (15%). “n/a” means no evidence, and it’s left out of the average.
| Provider | Cost | Speed | Payouts | Sign-up | Support | Regulation | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remitly | 7.9 | n/a | 8 | 8 | 7 | 10 | 8.2 |
| SBI Remit | 6.8 | n/a | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7.8 |
| Western Union | 6.0 | n/a | 9 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7.5 |
| Wise | 4.5 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 7.0 |
How the 0–10 scale maps, the same on every country page:
| Criterion | Scale |
|---|---|
| Cost | 10 minus 3 points per 1% of total cost (1% = 7, 2% = 4) |
| Speed | From published delivery times. 9: bank deposit in seconds. 8: a payout in about 10 minutes, and no bank time over a day. 7: within a few hours, or cash or wallet in minutes but bank deposits up to 3 business days. 6: within about a working day. 5: 1 to 3 business days. n/a: no published time |
| Payouts | 4: bank only. 6: bank and cash pickup. 8: bank and cash plus an unnamed wallet or mobile money, or bank plus wallets without cash. 9: bank, cash and a named local wallet (such as bKash, GCash or eSewa). 10: that, plus several wallets and home delivery |
| Sign-up | 8: residence card or My Number card checked in the app, no mailed step. 7: residence card accepted, with a courier step or fewer published details. Lower if you must visit a counter; 0 if foreign residents can’t sign up |
| Support | 8: English app and site with a detailed English help center. 7: English app, site and customer service. Lower if support is in Japanese only |
| Regulation | 10: registered with the FSA as a funds transfer provider, or a licensed bank. 0: not registered |
All four are registered with the FSA: Remitly Japan (Kanto 00077), SBI Remit (Kanto 00008), Western Union Japan (Kanto 00039) and Wise Payments Japan (Kanto 00040).
Best for:
Yes, on both sides. A ¥100,000 transfer is far below them, but larger or frequent transfers can hit them.
| Route | Per transfer | Per recipient |
|---|---|---|
| UnionPay card (SBI Remit) | USD 5,000 equivalent | USD 10,000 a day, USD 50,000 a year; 5 transfers a day, 20 a month |
| UnionPay card (Wise) | CNY 33,000 | USD 10,000 a day, USD 50,000 a year, including other services |
| Alipay (Wise) | CNY 50,000 | CNY 300,000 to 800,000 a year, by purpose (800,000 for money to family) |
| Weixin (Wise) | CNY 50,000 | CNY 800,000 a year |
China’s foreign exchange regulator (国家外汇管理局, SAFE) gives each person an annual convenience quota (年度便利化额度) of USD 50,000 to convert foreign currency into yuan. It runs by calendar year and resets on January 1. SAFE’s guidance (published 2021) says this is not a ceiling for genuine transactions: above it, the recipient converts at a bank with ID and papers showing where the money came from. SAFE also warns that splitting payments to get around these checks (分拆) is not allowed.
On the Japan side, a Type 2 money transfer company can handle up to ¥1,000,000 per transfer, and transfers over ¥1,000,000 are reported to the tax office. For questions about tax on large gifts to family, see gift tax in Japan for foreigners or ask a tax accountant (税理士).
Japan Post Bank lists China for its international transfers, for ¥3,000 a transfer and under ¥1,000,000 each time. Intermediary and receiving banks may take further charges.
More guides: send money from Japan, cashless payments in Japan and a Japanese driver’s license in Chinese.
On our ¥100,000 sample on October 24, 2026, Remitly gave CNY 4,223 to a UnionPay bank card for a returning customer, and new customers got CNY 4,280 on the first ¥100,000. SBI Remit gave CNY 4,208, Western Union CNY 4,197 and Wise CNY 4,175.
Yes. Registered money transfer companies in Japan, such as Remitly, SBI Remit, Western Union and Wise, send yuan to UnionPay bank cards and Chinese wallets. Japan Post Bank also lists China for its ¥3,000 international transfer.
Yes. Remitly and Wise both list Alipay for China. With Wise, the recipient must be a mainland Chinese citizen (or a Hong Kong or Macao resident with a Mainland travel permit), the name must match their Chinese ID in Pinyin, and the recipient has 72 hours to link a bank card and receive it.
Yes. Remitly, Wise, SBI Remit and Western Union pay to Weixin (WeChat). SBI Remit's WeChat rate gave CNY 4,212 on our sample, and the recipient must complete identity checks within 48 hours.
UnionPay card transfers are capped at about USD 5,000 per transfer, USD 10,000 a day and USD 50,000 a year per recipient. Wise caps Alipay and Weixin at CNY 50,000 per transfer. Japan caps Type 2 providers at ¥1,000,000 per transfer.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will check it against the source. See our corrections policy.
Photo by Eric Prouzet on Unsplash
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