What the twelve digits mean
The layout is fixed, and knowing it is the quickest way to tell a plausible code from a mistyped one before a payment goes anywhere.
- First three — the bank.
102is ICBC,103Agricultural Bank of China,104Bank of China,105China Construction Bank,301Bank of Communications. - Next four — the city or area.
- Next four — the branch within it.
- Last one — a check digit.
So 102871001979 is an ICBC branch in Yinchuan. A code that is not twelve digits, or
whose first three do not match the bank named on the invoice, is wrong before anybody
sends anything — and those two checks catch most of what gets typed across from an
email by hand.
The first three digits, by bank
The bank prefix is the one part of the code that can be checked without asking anybody. The large commercial banks:
| First three | Bank |
|---|---|
102 | Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) |
103 | Agricultural Bank of China |
104 | Bank of China |
105 | China Construction Bank |
301 | Bank of Communications |
302 | China CITIC Bank |
303 | China Everbright Bank |
304 | Hua Xia Bank |
305 | China Minsheng Bank |
306 | China Guangfa Bank |
307 | Ping An Bank |
308 | China Merchants Bank |
309 | Industrial Bank |
310 | Shanghai Pudong Development Bank |
403 | Postal Savings Bank of China |
City and rural commercial banks use other prefixes. Treat the table as a check on a code you were given, not a way to build one: the branch digits can only come from the supplier.
CNAPS, SWIFT and CIPS
Three systems that get confused because all three turn up in the same payment.
| What it identifies | Who gives it to you | |
|---|---|---|
| SWIFT/BIC | The bank, internationally | The supplier |
| CNAPS code (联行号) | The branch, inside mainland China | The supplier |
| CIPS | Nothing you supply. It clears renminbi across the border between banks | Nobody; your bank uses it |
A CNY payment to a mainland account typically needs the first two. CIPS is how the banks move it, and does not replace either.
Why it matters for payment
A missing or incorrect CNAPS code is one of the most common reasons a first payment to a new Chinese supplier bounces.
SWIFT identifies the bank. CNAPS identifies the branch. Chinese banks operate at enormous branch counts, and a payment routed to the right bank but the wrong branch will typically be returned rather than forwarded, often after a delay of several days and with fees deducted.
How to get it
Ask the supplier for their branch's code, in writing, alongside the account name and number. Chinese banks call it the 联行号, and a finance team will have it; asking for "the CNAPS code" sometimes gets a blank look and asking for the 联行号 rarely does. If they need to look it up, it is in the account details in their online banking, on the account information sheet the bank issued when the account was opened, or a phone call to the branch away.
Two things to insist on. It must be that branch's code and not the bank's head office — a code for the wrong branch of the right bank is the ordinary way this fails. And it should arrive on the same document as the rest of the beneficiary details, from the same person, rather than in a follow-up message: a payment instruction assembled from two emails is the shape most supplier-impersonation fraud takes.
Look-up sites exist and are worth using only as a check on what the supplier told you, never as a source. They go stale, branches merge, and the bank on the receiving end reconciles against its own record rather than against a directory.
What else gets payments returned
CNAPS is only one of the usual failure causes. The others:
- Beneficiary name mismatch. The account name must match the registered Chinese company name exactly. A trading name, an English translation, or an abbreviation will often be rejected. Ask for the name as it appears on the business licence.
- Missing payment purpose. Chinese banks apply SAFE (State Administration of Foreign Exchange) rules to inbound foreign currency and typically require a stated purpose and supporting commercial documents.
- Personal account instead of corporate. A supplier asking you to pay a personal account, or an account in Hong Kong under a different entity name, is a significant risk signal. It usually means the funds are bypassing the factory's own books.
Not needing one at all
The code exists to route a domestic renminbi payment to a branch. Settle in US dollars over SWIFT instead and there is no domestic leg to route, so no CNAPS code is asked for — the SWIFT/BIC and the account number are generally what the beneficiary bank needs.
That is a trade, not a trick, and the costs are real:
- The conversion moves to the supplier's end. They receive dollars and convert at their bank's rate, which is a rate you no longer see. A supplier who quoted in renminbi will price that in, and should.
- SWIFT is slower and dearer, and more likely to be held for questions at the receiving bank than a domestic transfer would be.
- SAFE documentation still applies. Avoiding the branch code does not avoid the purpose statement or the commercial documents behind it.
It can also avoid a documentation step, though how much depends on who is moving the money. Payment providers offering local CNY payouts commonly ask for the supplier's business registration number, its legal representative's name in Chinese characters and that person's national identity number; a bank wire in CNY generally does not go that far, but still needs the branch code and a stated purpose. Whether the slower rail is worth it is a question about the specific supplier and the specific provider, not a rule.
Practical advice
Send a small test payment before the first large tranche. A returned $100 costs a few days; a returned $60,000 deposit costs the production schedule and a great deal of trust at exactly the moment the relationship has none to spare.