Credit control usage rules
What is an Alibaba Cloud dedicated bank account?
An Alibaba Cloud dedicated bank account is a unique virtual bank account assigned to each customer with credit control. This account is a sub-account of Alibaba Cloud's primary account with Citibank. When you transfer funds to this account, the system automatically detects the payment, credits the funds to your Alibaba Cloud account, and applies them to your unpaid bills.
This feature is currently available only to credit control customers contracted with Alibaba Cloud's Singapore, United States, or Malaysia entities.
The system can only automatically process SWIFT and ACH wire transfers. Direct deposits and check payments are not automatically recognized and should be avoided.
A wire transfer may take two to four business days to be reflected in the Alibaba Cloud system, depending on the remitting bank and country.
How do I find my dedicated bank account details?
You can find your dedicated bank account information in one of three ways:
Activation email
Look for an email from Alibaba Cloud with the subject line "Your Alibaba Cloud Dedicated Bank Account is Ready."
Expenses and Costs console
New console
Tab 1 body
Legacy console
In the Expenses and Costs console, choose Account Balance. Click Deposit to view your dedicated bank account details.
Monthly invoice
Your dedicated bank account details are listed at the bottom of your monthly invoice.
How can I pay my bills using my dedicated bank account?
The "Automatic Payment" feature is enabled by default for dedicated bank accounts. To pay your bills, simply initiate a wire transfer for the due amount to your dedicated account.
The system will automatically use the funds to pay your bills, starting with the oldest ones, until all overdue payments are settled or the funds are depleted.
Note on bank fees:
Service fees may be charged by the remitting bank. To ensure the full amount is credited, instruct your bank that all fees should be charged to the beneficiary account (Alibaba Cloud). If you find that the credited amount is less than what you sent, keep a copy of your remittance slip and contact your account manager for reimbursement.
How do I check my account's credit limit?
Your Credit Limit is the credit amount approved for your account, based on Alibaba Cloud's assessment of your business operations and consumption. You can view it in the Expenses and Costs console.
New console
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.
On the Billing Account page, view your Available Credit in the Asset Information section.
Legacy console
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.
On the Account Overview page, in the Available Credit section, click Available Credit Details.
You can then view your credit limit:
What does Available Credit mean and how is it calculated?
Available Credit is the usable balance in your account. Your Available Credit can become negative due to refunds, account adjustments, or other operations. The formula is:
Available Credit = Cash Balance + Credit Limit + Credit Refunds - Unsettled Amount for the Current Month - Unsettled Amount from Previous Months
Cash Balance: The remaining funds in your account.
Credit Limit: The credit line approved for your account.
Credit Refunds: Refunds generated from canceled subscriptions or service downgrades that were originally paid for with your Credit Limit.
Unsettled Amount for the Current Month: The total usage cost for the current month that is pending settlement and has not yet been billed.
NoteFor the Alibaba Cloud International Website (www.alibabacloud.com), the monthly Bill includes only the pre-tax amount before issuance. Taxes are added to the Bill after issuance the following month. To prevent an Overdue Payment after taxes are applied, set your Alert Threshold carefully.
Unsettled Amount from Previous Months: The amount billed for usage in previous months that is awaiting payment.
My Available Credit is negative. What does this mean and what should I do?
A negative Available Credit means your account is overdue. You must pay the outstanding amount as soon as possible to avoid service disruption.
Here is the timeline of consequences for an overdue account:
Immediately: Your account enters a 15-day "restricted service period." During this time, you cannot purchase new services or use the auto-renewal feature.
After 15 days of overdue payment: If the bill is not settled, Alibaba Cloud will shut down all your services and instances.
15 days after shutdown: If the bill remains unpaid, all instances will be permanently released and the data will be lost.
Credit control settlement
For credit control accounts, what is a monthly bill and what do its statuses mean?
A monthly bill is a consolidated statement of all your subscription and pay-as-you-go usage for a single month.
The bill has several statuses that reflect its lifecycle:
Unsettled: This is the status of the current month's bill before it is finalized and an official invoice is issued. It can be considered an "awaiting invoicing" state.
Unpaid or Paid: At the end of the month, the bill is finalized. Its status changes to Unpaid if it is awaiting payment, or Paid once it has been fully settled.
How can I pay my monthly bills as a credit control customer?
You can pay your monthly bills using one of the following methods, depending on which console version you are using.
New console
Method 1 (Recommended): Automatic Write-off
Enable Automatic Write-off if it's not already on.
Top up your account via bank transfer. You can initiate this from the Overview of Monthly Bill page by clicking Pay Bill on an Outstanding bill. Once the top-up is received, your bills will be paid automatically. For detailed instructions, see Corporate remittance guide.
With Automatic Settlement enabled, top-ups are first used to pay off any unsettled bills. Any remaining funds will stay in your account balance.
Method 2: Unified Settlement (manual payment)
On the Overview of Monthly Bill page, click Unified Settlement.
Create a unified settlement task by selecting up to three bill months and bills from multiple member accounts (if applicable).
Manually make a payment for the unified settlement bill that is now In Settlement.
Method 3: Enterprise account transfer
On the Overview of Monthly Bill page, select an Outstanding bill and click Make Payment.
Choose the Transfer operation, select a Transfer-out Account, enter the Payment Amount, and click Confirm Transfer.
Legacy console
The recommended method is to pay by bank transfer with Automatic Payment enabled.
With Automatic Payment enabled:
Enable the Automatic Payment feature on the Account Overview page.
Make a bank transfer to the bank account listed on your monthly invoice. When the funds are received, your unpaid bills will be paid automatically, starting from the oldest.
With Automatic Payment disabled (manual payment):
After your bank transfer is received, you must manually pay your bills.
Go to Payment Details and click the Unpaid tab. Select a bill and click Details.
Click Pay, enter the payment amount, select a payment method, and confirm.
How do I enable or disable the Automatic Payment feature for monthly bills?
The Auto-Pay feature (called Automatic Write-Off in the new console) automatically uses your account balance or incoming bank transfers to pay your bills.
If you have a cash balance, it will be used on the 1st of each month to pay the previous month's bill.
If you have no balance, any incoming bank transfer will be used to pay your oldest unpaid bills first.
New console
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console.
Navigate to the Billing Account page.
Use the Automatic Write-off toggle to enable or disable the feature, then click Save.
Legacy console
Navigate to the Account Overview page.
Below your Available Credit, click the Setting icon for the Auto-Pay feature.
Enable or disable the feature and click Save.
How do I download monthly invoices for my credit control account?
As a credit control customer, you receive a consolidated monthly invoice for all your usage. You can download it from the Expenses and Costs console.
New console
Log on to the Expenses and Costs console and select Invoices.
Go to the Download Invoice tab to find and download your invoices.
Legacy console
On the Account Overview page, you can download invoices for the past three months by clicking on the desired month.
The previous month's invoice is available for download by the 6th of each month.
Invoices are also sent to your registered email address. To add more recipients, see Can I add additional email recipients for system notifications like invoices?
To download older invoices, go to the Payment Details page, click the Paid tab, and download the invoice for each bill individually.
Can I add additional email recipients for system notifications like invoices?
Yes, you can configure Alibaba Cloud to send system notifications, such as monthly invoices, to multiple email addresses in addition to your primary registered email.
To do this, follow the instructions in theManage notification settings guide.