Alipay via Adyen
This feature is currently a Private Beta release. Contact Chargebee Support to enable Alipay via Adyen for your live and test sites.
Alipay is one of the world's largest digital wallets, operated by Ant Group in China. It enables shoppers with an Alipay account to authorise payments through the Alipay app. Chargebee supports Alipay as a payment method via the Adyen payment gateway.
When customers select Alipay at checkout, they are redirected to the Alipay app (on mobile) or shown a QR code (on desktop) to authorise the payment. Payment status is confirmed via Adyen webhooks.
Supported countries and currencies
Alipay via Adyen supports the following country and currency. Refer to the Adyen Alipay documentation for the latest list of supported regions and currencies.
| Country | Currency |
|---|---|
| International | CNY, AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, SGD, MYR, NZD, USD |
Prerequisites
To accept Alipay payments using Chargebee, you must:
- Have an active Adyen account with Alipay enabled as a payment method in your Adyen Customer Area. Learn more
- Ensure at least one of the supported currencies (such as CNY, USD, EUR, GBP, or HKD) is enabled for your Chargebee account.
- Ensure the Adyen payment gateway and webhooks are configured in your Chargebee account. Learn more
- Have a Merchant Account configured for Alipay in Adyen, with API credentials and webhooks enabled.
Configure Alipay in Chargebee
Follow these steps to configure Alipay via Adyen in your Chargebee site:
- Log in to the Chargebee app.
- Go to Settings > Configure Chargebee > Payment Gateways.
- Select the relevant Adyen instance from the list.
- On the Configure Adyen page, enable Alipay under the list of supported payment methods.
- Click Apply to save changes.
Configure Smart Routing for Alipay
When you configure Alipay through Adyen, smart routing for the relevant currencies is automatically enabled. Check the Smart Routing settings, and if another gateway is already assigned to those currencies, adjust the Smart Routing settings manually to allocate Alipay.
Follow these steps to modify Smart Routing settings:
- Log in to the Chargebee app.
- Go to Settings > Configure Chargebee > Payment Gateways.
- Click Manage Rules under Smart Routing.
- Go to the Alipay section and click Add a Gateway for the relevant currency. If you already have a gateway assigned, click Edit.
- From the Choose a payment gateway drop-down menu, select the relevant Adyen instance with Alipay enabled.
- Click Save.
Enable Alipay to pay for subscriptions
Alipay is a one-time payment method and cannot be used for recurring payments. To use it for subscriptions, configure your Chargebee site to allow all one-time payment methods for subscriptions.
Note
While testing, ensure Allow customers to pay for subscriptions with payment methods that only support one-time payments and One-time Payments - Enable button are enabled under Settings > Configure Chargebee > Checkout & Self-Serve Portal.
Follow these steps to enable one-time payment methods for subscriptions:
- In the Chargebee app, go to Settings > Configure Chargebee > Checkout & Self-Serve Portal.
- Select the Configuration tab and enable Allow customers to pay for subscriptions with payment methods that only support one-time payments.
Payment workflow
Your customer performs the following steps during checkout using Alipay via Adyen:
- The customer reviews the order on the Your cart page and selects Proceed to Checkout.
- The customer enters their Account Details and Billing Address, selects Alipay, and selects Pay & Subscribe.
- The customer is redirected to Alipay to authorise the payment — on desktop by scanning the QR code, on mobile via the Alipay app.
- Alipay confirms the successful transaction.
- The customer is redirected back to Chargebee, and the order confirmation page appears once the payment is processed.
Note
The screenshots above are from Adyen's test environment. In production, customers authorise the payment in the live Alipay app or by scanning the live QR code.
Testing
Sandbox testing
Refer to Adyen's Alipay testing documentation for instructions on testing Alipay in the Adyen test environment.
Ensure webhooks are configured to receive REFUND and CANCEL_OR_REFUND updates for refund settlement.
Production testing
Before going live:
- Ensure Alipay is enabled in your Adyen live account.
- Verify webhook configuration is complete (required for refund settlement updates).
- Perform end-to-end testing using a real Alipay account and a device to complete the redirect or QR flow.
Reconciliation
For financial reconciliation between Chargebee and Adyen:
- Use the Chargebee transaction field id_at_gateway, which maps to the pspReference in Adyen.
Follow these steps to reconcile transactions:
- Retrieve the id_at_gateway value from the Chargebee transaction details.
- Locate the corresponding pspReference in Adyen reports for Alipay transactions.
- Match transactions using this reference to ensure financial consistency.
Payment features
The following are the features for this integration and details about them:
| Feature | Description | Supported | Default state | Configuration / behavior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Integration sync mode | Defines how payment requests are processed and statuses are communicated between Chargebee and Adyen. | Yes (Asynchronous) | Asynchronous | Adyen processes Alipay payments asynchronously. Chargebee receives the final payment status through Adyen webhooks. Webhook configuration is mandatory and is used to receive REFUND and CANCEL_OR_REFUND updates for refund settlement. |
| Capture settings | Payment processing involves two stages: Authorization and Capture. Capture settings determine when funds are collected after authorization. | Yes | Auto capture | Auto capture is the default and only supported capture setting for Alipay via Adyen. No additional configuration is required. |
| Verification modes | Defines how payment methods are verified before processing. | Yes | Enabled | The customer authorizes the payment within the Alipay app or by scanning the QR code. No separate verification configuration is required in Chargebee. |
| Statement descriptor | Displays the business name on the customer's bank or wallet statement, helping them recognize charges and reducing disputes. | Yes | Disabled | Configure this under Settings > Configure Chargebee > Transaction Descriptor. |
| Chargeback management | Handles chargeback events and applies configured actions on invoices and subscriptions. | No | NA | Alipay does not support chargebacks for this integration. Refunds must be issued manually if needed. |
| Fraud management | Uses gateway fraud signals to identify and flag high-risk transactions. | No | NA | No Alipay-specific fraud configuration is available in Chargebee. |
| Transaction initiation type | Identifies whether a transaction is customer-initiated (CIT) or merchant-initiated (MIT). | No | NA | Alipay supports customer-initiated, one-time payments only. Merchant-initiated recurring charges are not supported. |
| Error intelligence | Provides standardized categorization of payment failures. | Yes | Enabled | Available through Adyen payment and refusal responses. No configuration is required. |
| Gateway transaction details | Provides access to raw gateway responses for transactions. | Yes | Enabled | Available on the transaction page under Error details. No configuration is required. |
| Addition of payment methods in Chargebee dashboard | Allows a payment method to be added in Chargebee when details are collected outside checkout. | No | NA | Customers must complete the Alipay checkout flow. Alipay cannot be added from the Chargebee dashboard. |
Supported token formats
This section is relevant if you are building a custom checkout or migrating payment methods from another provider to Adyen.
| Token type | Description | Supported | Token field | Token format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargebee Payment Intent | Recommended token format when building a custom checkout using Chargebee JS. | Yes | payment_intent[id] | payment_intent_id |
| Chargebee token | Legacy token format supported for selected payment methods and gateways with Chargebee JS. Not recommended for new implementations. | No | token_id | NA |
| Gateway permanent token | Permanent reference provided by the gateway. Not applicable for Alipay as it does not support stored credentials. | No | payment_method[reference_id] | NA |
| Gateway temporary token | Short-lived token format that can be converted to a permanent token. | No | NA | NA |
Limitations and important points
- Alipay cannot be added as a payment method via the customer portal or the Chargebee app. Customers must complete the Alipay flow.
- Alipay does not support storing payment methods for recurring billing. Each transaction requires explicit customer authorization.
- Alipay does not support chargebacks. Refunds must be issued manually if needed.
- Alipay is not suitable for automatic subscription renewals. To collect payments for subscriptions using Alipay, send email notifications with a Pay Now link when a new invoice is generated.
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