Can you pay for the OpenAI API with Alipay or WeChat Pay? Official rules and an alternative for payments in yuan

You cannot pay for the OpenAI API directly with Alipay or WeChat Pay: the OpenAI Help Center states that API credits can only be purchased in USD using a standard credit or debit card. Prepaid cards are not accepted, and the payment card must be issued by a bank in a country or region supported by OpenAI. Mainland China is not on the list (checked October 3, 2026). Alipay and WeChat Pay are also absent from the payment methods for ChatGPT web subscriptions. Another option is to top up your balance in CNY using Alipay or WeChat Pay on Kunavo (an independent API gateway compatible with the OpenAI API), then change one line, base_url, in the OpenAI SDK to call GPT models. The minimum top-up is $10, the balance does not expire, and the same key can also call Claude. This option purchases Kunavo API credits, not ChatGPT Plus, and does not add credits to your OpenAI account. Prices and payment methods were verified on October 4, 2026.

Short answer: which billing account accepts Alipay and WeChat Pay?

• OpenAI API credits (platform.openai.com): No. OpenAI 的多币种账单文章说 API 额度目前只能用美元购买（OpenAI Help Center），扣款被拒的说明文章说购买 API 额度只支持标准信用卡或借记卡，不支持预付卡（OpenAI Help Center），均于 October 3, 2026核对。
• ChatGPT Plus and other web subscriptions: No. The same multi-currency article lists bank cards plus local methods in some countries or regions (such as bank debits through Link in the United Kingdom and European Economic Area, India's UPI, Indonesia's GoPay, Brazil's Pix, Korea's Kakao Pay and Naver Pay, and the Philippines' GCash); it does not list Alipay or WeChat Pay, and the currency table does not include renminbi. Subscriptions through the Apple or Google app stores are billed by the store; the available methods depend on your store account, which this article has not verified.
• Calling GPT through Kunavo: Yes. Kunavo's Stripe checkout supports Alipay and WeChat Pay and displays renminbi when opened in mainland China. The money is added to Kunavo's prepaid balance; you pay Kunavo, not OpenAI.

OpenAI 另有一篇文章说明 ChatGPT 和 API 平台是两套独立的账单系统（OpenAI Help Center）。所以即使有人帮你开通了 ChatGPT Plus，也不包含任何 API 额度；反过来，Kunavo 的余额也只用于 API 调用。

How OpenAI officially charges

The two leftmost columns in the table below come from four OpenAI Help Center articles (checked October 3, 2026). The rightmost column shows Kunavo's approach for comparison:

OpenAI 的最低充值额（$5）比 Kunavo 的 $10 低。如果你手上有一张符合 OpenAI 条件的卡，直接向 OpenAI 购买是合理的选择；只是要记得它的自动充值默认开启，额度一年后过期（Prepaid billing article）。

Countries and regions supported by the OpenAI API

OpenAI 在帮助中心的《API 支持的国家和地区》（help.openai.com）里列出 API 支持的国家和地区，October 3, 2026核对时名单前写着：

If a location is not included in the list below, our API is not supported there.

意思是：不在名单上的地区，OpenAI 不支持使用其 API。名单里没有中国大陆、香港和澳门，台湾在名单上；开发者文档里的名单（developers.openai.com，同日核对）与帮助中心的不完全相同，但同样没有中国大陆、香港和澳门。本文不提供任何绕开这条限制的方法，也不对任何网络在中国大陆的连通性作说明。

Why virtual and prepaid cards are not recommended

不少中文教程教人用虚拟卡或预付卡给 OpenAI 充值。按 OpenAI 帮助中心的两条规则（Explanation of declined charges，October 3, 2026核对）：预付卡不能购买 API 额度，只支持标准信用卡和借记卡；付款卡必须由 OpenAI 支持的国家或地区的银行发行。属于预付性质的卡，或者由名单以外地区发行的卡，都不符合 OpenAI 写明的付款条件。本文不推荐任何发卡平台。

Call GPT with Alipay or WeChat Pay on Kunavo

Kunavo 是一个独立的 API 网关，不是 OpenAI 官方，也不是 OpenAI 的合作伙伴。它兼容 OpenAI 和 Anthropic 两种接口格式：同一把 key、同一个预付余额可以调用下表的 GPT 模型，也可以调用 Claude，按 token 计费。下表价格为每百万 token 的美元价，右列是 OpenAI 目前的收费（OpenAI API pricing page，October 3, 2026核对）。Based on output pricing, the prices of the models in the table on Kunavo are 60–65% lower than OpenAI's standard prices, excluding promotions.

OpenAI's promotional price for GPT-5.6 Sol is $4.00 / $20.00 and lasts at least until November 21, 2026; the standard price is $5.00 / $30.00. During the promotion, compared with OpenAI's actual charges, Kunavo's output price for GPT-5.6 Sol is approximately 40% lower. Models paused on Kunavo are not included in the table. See the pricing page for complete model prices; Claude pricing is available at Claude API pricing, and the cost of running Claude Code with the same balance is at Claude Code costs.

Example (for demonstration only): a conversational request with 1,000 input tokens and 300 output tokens, using GPT-6 Sol ($0.80 / $4.00), costs approximately $0.0020; the minimum top-up of $10 covers approximately 5,000 such requests. At OpenAI's current price for GPT-6 Sol, the same request costs approximately $0.0050. Actual cost depends on prompt length, output length, and caching.

Steps

1. Create an account

Register at kunavo.com using an email address or Google account; no card is required during registration.

2. Choose a top-up amount in Billing

Go to Billing and choose a tier, starting at $10. Amounts are shown in USD because each model's token price is in USD; the renminbi amount is displayed on the next step, before confirmation. Larger top-ups include a bonus: 充 $100 到账 $110、充 $1,000 到账 $1,200、充 $5,000 到账 $6,250.

3. Confirm the renminbi amount on the Stripe checkout page

点击充值后打开 Stripe 托管的结账页。在中国大陆打开时，金额以人民币显示，付款方式里有银行卡、支付宝和微信支付（October 3, 2026从中国大陆 IP 打开的一次结账页就是这样）。Stripe 的文档说这个汇率保证 24 小时有效（Stripe Adaptive Pricing documentation）。作为参照，此前一笔 $10 的充值用微信支付按 ¥69.90 付款；汇率每天变动，以结账页显示为准。

4a. Choose WeChat Pay: scan with WeChat on your phone

结账页会显示一个二维码，用微信 App 扫码，在微信里核对人民币金额后确认；Stripe 的文档说，付款完成后会跳回商家网站（Stripe WeChat Pay documentation）。只用一部手机时怎么扫同一块屏幕上的二维码，Stripe 的文档没有说明，我们也没有测试过，所以最稳的做法是在电脑上打开结账页，用手机微信扫码。

4b. Choose Alipay: redirect to Alipay to confirm

选择支付宝后，结账页会跳转到支付宝，你在支付宝里确认付款，然后自动回到 Kunavo（Stripe Alipay documentation）。Stripe 的支付宝文档还说，用户可以在网页或手机上付款，所以只有一部手机时，支付宝这条路更顺手。

5. Wait for the balance to arrive

After Stripe confirms the payment, the balance is credited automatically. If it does not appear immediately, refresh Billing; do not pay again. Each payment is recorded as a separate top-up.

6. Create an API key and make your first call

Create a key at /app/keys (it starts with sk-kn- and is shown only once, so save it immediately). Then:

# 余额到账后，第一次调用 GPT（OpenAI 兼容格式）
curl https://api.kunavo.com/v1/chat/completions \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $KUNAVO_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "model": "gpt-6-sol",
    "messages": [{"role": "user", "content": "用一句话回答：支付宝/微信充值后调用成功了吗？"}]
  }'

Projects already using the OpenAI SDK only need to change base_url and the key:

# 已有 OpenAI SDK 的代码：只改 base_url 和 key
from openai import OpenAI

client = OpenAI(
    api_key="sk-kn-...",                    # 在 kunavo.com/app/keys 创建
    base_url="https://api.kunavo.com/v1",   # 唯一需要改的一行
)

resp = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="gpt-6-sol",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "你好"}],
)
print(resp.choices[0].message.content)

For Codex CLI, see Codex CLI integration; for more clients, see Quickstart.

Separate rules for Alipay and WeChat Pay

下表来自 Stripe 的支付宝文档（docs.stripe.com）和微信支付文档（docs.stripe.com），October 3, 2026核对；最后一行是 Kunavo 自己的记录。

Stripe describes Alipay users as consumers in China, overseas Chinese, and Chinese tourists. Neither method supports initiating a chargeback with the card issuer like a credit card; Stripe's documentation also says that when an Alipay user contacts Alipay about a transaction, Alipay may direct the user back to the merchant. Therefore, contact Kunavo directly with any payment issue.

关于汇率：Kunavo 的结账页开启了 Stripe 的 Adaptive Pricing。Stripe 的文档说，它显示给付款人的汇率包含 2–4% 的换汇费，由付款人承担（Stripe Adaptive Pricing documentation）。把结账页切回美元可以免掉这笔费用，但用支付宝或微信支付时钱包里扣的仍是人民币，切回美元后按什么汇率换算，我们没有测试过；用银行卡付美元时，发卡行也可能另收货币转换费。

Alipay or WeChat Pay is missing from the checkout page, or payment failed

• Neither method appears: Return to Billing and reopen the checkout page. Kunavo's own testing shows that the checkout page also offers Alipay and WeChat Pay when displayed in USD, so the absence of renminbi on the checkout page is not itself the cause.
• Nothing happens after scanning the WeChat QR code: Stripe's documentation says that you return to the merchant website after payment. If you are not redirected, or the page has been closed, first check Billing to see whether the top-up has arrived, then decide whether to pay again.
• The wallet declines the payment: This article has not verified Alipay and WeChat Pay's per-transaction or annual limits for payments to overseas merchants; follow the message in the app. You can switch to the other wallet or use a bank card on the checkout page (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, JCB, UnionPay).
• Payment was charged but the balance did not arrive: Refresh Billing and do not pay again. If you accidentally paid twice, the billing documentation states that duplicate top-ups are eligible for a refund request.

For other issues, email contact@kunavo.com.

Refunds

Under Kunavo's Terms of Service, amounts already used by API calls are not refunded; unused balance does not expire; when the account is closed, the remaining balance is returned to the original payment channel after payment-channel fees are deducted.

原路退回受 Stripe 的期限限制：支付宝在付款后 90 天内，微信支付在付款后 180 天内（Alipay documentation、WeChat Pay documentation）。Stripe 还说，如果支付宝原路退款失败，需要商家另行安排。在 Adaptive Pricing 下，退款按付款时的币种和原汇率计算，所以退回的也是人民币（Stripe）。超过这些期限之后能否退款、怎么退，Kunavo 没有成文规则，请先联系 contact@kunavo.com，本文不作承诺。

Limitations to know

• Manual top-ups only. Automatic top-ups can be linked only to a bank card or Link; Alipay and WeChat Pay require manual payment each time.
• Minimum $10. Prepaid balance, no monthly fee, balance never expires, and failed requests (4xx/5xx) are not charged.
• Currency-conversion fee. On the checkout page displayed in renminbi, the exchange rate includes Stripe's 2–4% currency-conversion fee.
• No invoices issued. Kunavo does not issue any invoices, including Chinese VAT invoices; top-up records (date, amount, status) are available on the Billing page.
• Not ChatGPT and not OpenAI credits. Kunavo balance is used only for GPT and Claude API calls; it cannot purchase ChatGPT Plus and does not add credit to a platform.openai.com account.
• Methods unavailable on the checkout page.October 3, 2026 The renminbi checkout page opened from a mainland China IP displays three methods: bank card, Alipay, and WeChat Pay. PayPal and domestic bank transfers, including corporate transfers, are not offered.

Related pages

To use the same balance for Claude or Claude Code, see Claude API top-up guide with Alipay and WeChat Pay. Equivalent pages for other regions: GPT API payment with UPI in India (OpenAI API payment by UPI, English), OpenAI API payments in Korea (OpenAI API 결제 방법, Korean), and payment with Pix in Brazil (Pagar a API com Pix, Portuguese). Readers in Taiwan and Hong Kong who use Traditional Chinese can see Claude API payment methods.

Frequently asked questions