Start from the situation, not the method
Importers often search for a payment method by name — MoMo, Alipay, bank transfer — when the more useful question is who is receiving the money and what they expect. The recipient determines everything else.
The table below maps the common importer situations to the process that fits each one, rather than listing routes in the abstract.
Matching situation to process
If you are paying a supplier against an invoice, the supplier payment process applies, with the invoice number carried through. If you are buying wholesale from 1688, the recipient is your supplier or agent, and the order total rather than the listing price is what you pay. If you are buying from Taobao, Pinduoduo or Xianyu, the same logic applies with a smaller and often more variable order value.
If you are funding a sourcing agent who buys across several sellers on your behalf, you are topping up the agent rather than paying a seller, and the transaction should say so. If the goods are part of an import cycle with deposits, balances and freight, each stage is its own payment.
Funding your side
On your side, the funding method is whichever is offered for your transaction. Mobile Money routes such as MTN MoMo and Telecel Cash let you settle the Cedis from your phone, and their pages describe what applies to each. Whichever you use, the reference is what makes the payment identifiable, and the confirmation message is what makes it traceable.
The habits that consistently work
Confirm the RMB total in writing before paying. Collect the recipient details completely, including the account holder name exactly as it appears on the account. Use one payment per order. Keep the reference with the invoice or order number. Follow the transaction through to completion rather than assuming.
None of those habits are difficult. Together they are the difference between an import process that runs quietly in the background and one that costs you an afternoon every time an order ships.