Complete Guide to Payment Collection, Receiving & Withdrawal for Global Selling
Save 100k+ after reading. The only comprehensive guide online that clearly explains payment collection, receiving, and withdrawal processes.
Although I've shared detailed content long ago, with my continued learning and practice, I found there's still a lot to explain clearly to beginners in one go. So here we go!
This covers various payment collection issues beginners face with independent stores, including but not limited to:
- How exactly does independent store "payment collection" work? Payment collection, receiving, withdrawal - so many confusing steps!
- Why do you say we must have an overseas entity to properly run independent stores? Why not recommend Hong Kong? Which country is better?
- How much fees will I be charged in this collection process? What's the calculation method?
- How exactly do I register these payment gateways, receiving accounts, and the overall withdrawal process?
Table of Contents
- Full Process Overview
- Step-by-Step: Payment Collection
- Step-by-Step: Receiving
- Step-by-Step: Withdrawal
- Service Fee Details
- Business Entities
- FAQ
Let's go!
First, Understand the Full "Payment Collection" Process
The overall process has three steps:
- Activate and bind payment gateway (the hard part, requires overseas entity or Hong Kong personal account)
- Bind your receiving account to the payment gateway (easy, solved by domestic service providers)
- Bind your withdrawal account to your receiving account (easy, just bind your domestic bank card or Alipay)
Step-by-Step: Payment Collection
What is a Payment Gateway?
From the user perspective: When shopping online or offline, you need to choose a payment method, right? You can choose Alipay, bank card, WeChat Pay, UnionPay, etc. These payment options are payment gateways.
From the merchant perspective: We need to apply for and activate these payment gateways. The more you activate that match local user habits, and the smoother and safer the experience, the more it determines your conversion and fraud prevention.
What Payment Gateway Solutions Are Available?
For global selling independent stores, payment gateways fall into three categories:
1. Native Digital Finance Platforms International: Stripe, Airwallex, Payoneer Domestic: LianLian, Oceanpayment, etc.
These platforms integrate various overseas local payment methods, including credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay), buy-now-pay-later like Klarna, and even Alipay and WeChat Pay.
2. SaaS Integrated Solutions Shopify Payments, Shopline Payments, WooCommerce Payments, etc.
The underlying product still partners with the native finance platforms above, just with some experience optimization or fee differences.
3. PayPal You can roughly think of PayPal as China's Alipay. Whether you're an individual user or merchant, you can use PayPal.
How to Choose and Activate Payment Gateways?
Starting from the lowest barrier:
1. PayPal
PayPal can be opened domestically (for example, with a domestic individual business license), then bound to your independent store website, and you can easily start your global selling journey.
- PayPal has always supported credit card payments, just the user experience isn't very smooth
- After PayPal China launched its Cross-Border service, fees have been greatly reduced
That is, beginners can experience the full global selling process through PayPal China in the early stages.
2. Shopify Payments (or Stripe)
But as business develops, you'll definitely need to activate comprehensive payment gateways like SP or Stripe.
Why needed?
- More payment options mean better user experience and stronger user trust
- Regarding user trust: When PayPal China's low barrier allows many sellers doing wrong products/not shipping to also use it, and PayPal's overall risk control and complaint handling are poor, do you think users trust PayPal or Shopify Payments more?
Step-by-Step: Receiving
Receiving definition: The process from payment gateway deposit to your receiving account.
Receiving Process Example
- Customer pays: Customer uses PayPal to place a $50 order
- Funds deposited: This USD goes into the PayPal account
- Bind receiving: Bind WorldFirst/LianLian virtual bank card
- Transfer funds: USD transfers from PayPal to WorldFirst account
How to Receive?
Three steps for receiving:
- Apply for a receiving bank card (virtual card is fine)
- Bind to your payment gateway
- Wait for funds to deposit
Step-by-Step: Withdrawal
Withdrawal Process
When funds reach your virtual account, we can go to the cross-border payment platform to operate withdrawal!
Three steps for withdrawal:
- Apply for foreign exchange settlement at the receiving platform
- Choose to withdraw to bound domestic bank card
- RMB arrives in account
Service Fee Details
| Platform | Fee | Features |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal China | 4.4% + fixed fee | Low barrier, can open with China entity |
| Shopify Payments | 2.9% + $0.30 | Requires overseas entity |
| Stripe | 2.9% + $0.30 | Requires overseas entity |
| WorldFirst | 0.3% | Low settlement fee |
| LianLian | 0.3%-0.7% | Established domestic player |
| Airwallex | 0.3% | Easy KYC |
Business Entities
Why Need Overseas Entity?
- Shopify Payments, Stripe and other comprehensive payment gateways require overseas entities
- Overseas entities increase user trust
- Tax optimization in certain regions
Recommended Registration Locations
| Location | Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Low cost, simple maintenance, tax-friendly | Requires annual review |
| US | High trust, large market | High registration and maintenance costs |
| Hong Kong | Chinese environment, close proximity | Difficult bank account opening, strict review |
FAQ
Save 100k+ after reading. The only comprehensive guide online that clearly explains everything.
I hope this guide helps you understand the full payment collection, receiving, and withdrawal process, avoiding detours and unnecessary expenses!
