🇨🇳 Sending to China¶
CN · CHN · +86 · East Asia
National format SWIFT BIC required
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Required information¶
For your end users
China: Use only PoP codes CAP, GDS, SRV, CAC, or FTF. Spell out beneficiary names in full - abbreviations like 'MFG' for 'manufacturing' frequently trigger holds. P.O. boxes are not accepted.
Real-Time Alternative
IBPS / NUCC
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-20. Reference material only.
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Currency
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Typical settlement
2-3 business days; longer if PoP code or transliteration triggers a hold.
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SWIFT BIC
Required
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Local clearing
CNAPS (domestic) / CIPS (cross-border RMB)
Account format¶
How beneficiary account numbers are structured for China. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format tier | National format |
| Length | Local Chinese bank account numbers vary by bank; no IBAN standard. |
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for China.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| CNAPS | Optional |
| Format | 12 or 14-digit numeric (China National Advanced Payment System) |
| Directory | ↗ Source |
| Local clearing | CNAPS (domestic) / CIPS (cross-border RMB) |
Address format¶
How China expects the beneficiary address to appear on the wire. Free-form variations frequently trigger compliance holds.
- Addressee
- Premises + Street
- Door + Floor + Bldg. + Comp. of bldgs. (if applicable)
- Sub-province (if applicable)
- Postcode + Province (all caps)
- Country Name (all caps)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Postal code | Optional — validated against the format below when provided |
| Postal code regex | ^\d{6}$ |
| Postal example | 100000 |
Purpose of payment¶
Put the country's own code in <Purp><Prtry> (purpose_code_proprietary).
Requirement: Mandatory (confirmed)
GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code format | 3-letter Purpose of Payment code (one of CAP, GDS, SRV, CAC, FTF). |
| Source | ↗ J.P. Morgan Global Payments Guide |
Available codes:
Five codes only - pick exactly one: CAP (Capital Account: capital injection/reduction, investment, shareholder loan, non-trade fund transfer); GDS (Goods Trade: sale/purchase, import/export, procurement, L/C, prepayment); SRV (Service Trade: utilities, rent, audit fee, hotel, legal, advertising, copyright, design, R&D, registration, medical); CAC (Current Account: dividend, profit distribution, tax, scholarship); FTF (Bank-to-bank funds transfer).
Remittance info¶
Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.
PoP codes are administered by SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange); cross-reference with PBoC (People's Bank of China, http://www.pbc.gov.cn/) for current circulars.
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | CNY |
| Typical settlement | 2-3 business days; longer if PoP code or transliteration triggers a hold. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Known issues:
- Notorious for holding up wires due to seemingly simple abbreviations (e.g., 'MFG' for 'manufacturing') triggering delays.
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
Abbreviations in beneficiary name or address (e.g., 'MFG' for 'manufacturing') frequently trigger holds - spell out fully.
English transliteration mismatch with what the Chinese beneficiary bank has on file.
Missing or wrong 3-letter PoP code (must be CAP, GDS, SRV, CAC, or FTF for FX).
Beneficiary address using P.O. box only (not accepted).
Fedwire character-validation failure on non-ASCII characters.
Sanctions or compliance hold.
Validate before you send¶
Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.
BIC lookup
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References¶
First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.
Disclaimer
These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.
Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.
For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.
Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.