China is a country where wallets replaced cash years ago. Ordering food, paying for a taxi, splitting a restaurant bill, buying vegetables at a street market, sending a birthday gift to a cousin: almost everything now happens through an app on a phone. Sending money home from South Africa fits naturally into that reality. The money lands where your family already spends it.
Mama Money sends direct to Chinese mobile wallets such as WeChat Pay and Alipay from your phone, at fair fees, with the exchange rate and total cost shown in the app before you confirm. This guide walks through everything: how to send, where your money can arrive, what it costs, how long it takes, and how to send more when you need to.
The whole process happens from your phone. No branches, no queues, no paper forms.
Free on Google Play, the Apple App Store, or Huawei AppGallery. Everything happens inside the app: rates, sending, tracking, support.
Use your passport, foreign ID, South African ID, or asylum or refugee document. Take a selfie in the app to complete registration. No proof of address needed to get started.
Select China, then pick the mobile wallet your family uses. Add their name and mobile number. The app shows the exchange rate, the fee, and the exact amount in Chinese Yuan your family will receive, before you confirm.
Pay by EFT online, or with cash at a retail partner like Pick n Pay, Shoprite, Spar, Makro, Game, or Flash. Once your payment goes through, both you and your recipient get an SMS with a reference number, so you both know the money is on its way.
Money sent through Mama Money lands directly in your family's mobile wallet in Chinese Yuan. Everyday spending in China happens through wallet apps, so the money is available for them to use the moment it arrives, without a bank visit or cash pickup step.
WeChat Pay
Inside China's biggest social app
The wallet built into WeChat, the app most people in China use every day for messaging, video calls, and payments. If your family already uses WeChat to chat with you, WeChat Pay is likely their most-used wallet too.
Alipay
Ant Group's payment app
A standalone wallet used across China for payments, transfers, bills, and everyday shopping. Widely accepted at both online and offline merchants.
Ask your family which wallet they check most often before your first transfer, and send there. Most people in China have both apps installed, so if you're not sure, they can quickly confirm which one they use most.
WeChat is a super-app: messaging, calls, social feeds, and payments all built into one. Because it's the app most Chinese families use to stay in touch with each other, money that lands in WeChat Pay is often the most convenient for everyday use.
To send to WeChat Pay, you will need your recipient's:
Who WeChat Pay suits well
WeChat Pay is a natural fit for family who use WeChat throughout the day. The money lands in the same app they already have open, ready to send to friends, redistribute among relatives, or spend at any merchant that accepts WeChat Pay.
Alipay is one of the most widely accepted payment apps in China. It handles payments, transfers, bill payments, and everyday shopping across a huge merchant network, both online and in physical stores.
To send to Alipay, you will need your recipient's:
Mama Money's fee for China is 5% or less, and capped at R250 per transfer. There are no hidden costs. The rate and the fee are always shown in full inside the app before you confirm, so you know exactly what your family will receive in Chinese Yuan.
| You send | Mama fee | Your family receives |
|---|---|---|
| R500 | Up to R25 | The rest, in CNY at the live rate |
| R1,000 | Up to R50 | The rest, in CNY at the live rate |
| R5,000 | Up to R250 | The rest, in CNY at the live rate |
| R10,000 | Capped at R250 | The rest, in CNY at the live rate |
| R25,000 | Capped at R250 | The rest, in CNY at the live rate |
Why the cap matters
Because the fee is capped at R250, larger transfers become proportionally cheaper. On a R25,000 send, that R250 cap works out to just 1% of what you send. For families who send larger amounts less often, or who are supporting parents through a bigger monthly send, this cap works in your favour.
Every Mama Money account starts at the Standard limit, which suits most routine family support. When you need to send more, you can upgrade to the Higher Limit tier in a few taps.
| Limit tier | Per order | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | R25,000 | R25,000 |
| Higher Limit | R50,000 | R100,000 |
To upgrade, tap "Increase Limits" in the Mama Money app and follow the prompts. You will need to upload a couple of extra documents depending on your ID type. See the Mama Money limits page for the full details on what's required.
Most transfers to Chinese wallets arrive within minutes. Timing can vary a little depending on the wallet provider's own processing and the time of day, but same-day arrival is the norm.
Both you and your recipient get an SMS with a reference number as soon as your payment goes through. You can also track the transfer inside the Mama Money app at any time, so there is never a moment where you don't know where the money is.
When you are supporting family across an ocean, trust matters. Every Mama Money transfer to China goes through licensed banking and payment infrastructure, not informal channels.
Every transfer to China lands through a regulated payment partner, so your money moves on infrastructure your family already knows and trusts. No fine print. No funny business.
Straight to WeChat Pay. Or Alipay. Send to China from your phone in minutes, at fair fees, with the rate shown upfront.