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    Expenses and Costs:Manage credit-based payments

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    Expenses and Costs:Manage credit-based payments

    Last Updated:Oct 30, 2025

    The Credit Limit is a line of credit that Alibaba Cloud provides to enterprise accounts, letting you use services now and pay for them later.

    Apply for a credit limit

    To use a Credit Limit, contact your account manager to apply. Before you apply, ensure that your Alibaba Cloud account has completed Enterprise identity verification.

    Note

    If you have multiple enterprise accounts under a Finance Trusteeship relationship, apply for a Credit Limit through the Alibaba Cloud account. This limit can then be shared with RAM users. For more information, see TrustFinance.

    If you have enabled Enterprise Account Center, the management account (MA) can apply for the credit and allocate it to member accounts through account sharing. For more information, see Overview of account sharing.

    View your credit limit

    View your Credit Limit in the Expenses and Costs console. Navigate to the Billing Account page and find the Asset Information section.

    Available Credit: Your asset balance minus any outstanding charges on your account. The Available Credit amount is updated in real time.

    The formula for calculating Available Credit varies by user type:

    • Alibaba Cloud direct customers: Available Credit = Account Balance + Credit Limit + Credit Refund - Current Month's Unsettled Amount - Previous Months' Unsettled Amount.

    • Ecosystem partners: Available Credit = Quota - Quota Consumption Ledger Amount.

    Credit Limit: The total line of credit currently granted to your account. This section also shows your historical credit adjustment records.

    Credit Refund: This is credit generated when you return products, downgrade configurations, or receive billing adjustments for resources originally purchased with your Credit Limit. You can use a Credit Refund to offset unpaid bills from previous months, as well as bills for the current and future months.

    To use a Credit Refund to offset bills from previous months, enable the Offset Past Bills option on the page. The system then automatically uses the Credit Refund to settle outstanding historical bills chronologically by month.

    Legacy console

    View your current available spending limit on the Account Overview page. Click Available Spending Limit Details to view your account balance, credit limit, amount due, and other information for the current account.

    • Account Balance (including past refunds): Your cash balance plus any refund ledger amount. Your wire transfer payments are temporarily stored in your Account Balance. If a refund occurs, the amount is stored in your refund balance.

    • Credit Limit: The line of credit from Alibaba Cloud, representing the maximum amount you can spend before making a payment.

    • Amount Due (including unsettled amount): The total of your outstanding monthly bills plus the accumulating unsettled amount for the current month.

    The Payment and Expenditure Details section provides a detailed record of all transactions for your account. It includes the following:

    • Monthly Summary: A monthly summary of transaction amounts, aggregated by funding source, transaction channel, and transaction type.

    • Transaction Details: A detailed record of specific fund transactions.

    An Overdue Payment occurs if your Available Credit or Available Spending Limit falls below zero.

    Your account enters a restricted state for 15 days. During this period, you cannot purchase new resources or use Auto-renewal. After this period, all your running resources and instances will stop. If you do not settle the Overdue Payment within 15 days after services are suspended, Alibaba Cloud permanently releases all instances.

    If your account has an Overdue Payment, pay as soon as possible to avoid service interruptions or the release of your resources.

    Pay with your credit limit

    When purchasing a Subscription product or resource, select Alibaba Cloud Credit Limit on the payment page. The expense is then added to your monthly bill.

    When using Pay-as-you-go products or resources, the system generates usage details according to the product's billing cycle and consumes your account's Available Credit. Bills generated during the month are in an "unsettled" state. At the end of the month, the system officially issues the unsettled monthly bill. The bill status then changes to "To be paid" or "Paid," depending on whether it has been fully settled.

    Make payments

    Pay your monthly bill by the due date specified on the bill and invoice. Payment options include card, wire transfer, and PayPal. For more information, see Alibaba Cloud payment methods.

    If you pay by wire transfer, enable Automatic Write-off on the Billing Account page. Once enabled, the system automatically uses your Account Balance to pay for outstanding monthly bills. If Automatic Write-off is not enabled, make payments manually. Go to the Monthly Bill Overview page, select an issued but unpaid historical bill, and click Pay Now to settle the payment.

    Legacy console

    If you pay by bank wire transfer, enable Auto-pay Monthly Bills on the Account Overview page. When the system receives your payment, it automatically pays your bills chronologically until the payment is depleted or all bills are paid.

    If you disable the auto-pay option, pay your monthly bills manually after your payment is received. Go to Payment Details, click the To be paid tab, select a monthly, confirm the amount, and click Pay. On the Pay Now page, enter the amount and select an available payment method to complete the payment.

    FAQ

    What is the correct way to settle payments for my Alibaba Cloud Credit Limit, and can I use coupons?

    No, you cannot use Coupons to pay for charges incurred through your Credit Limit. You must settle these payments using either a linked payment method (such as a credit card or PayPal) or wire transfer.

    What happened to the Alibaba Cloud Credit Pay feature, and how does it relate to the new Credit Limit?

    The Credit Pay feature has been discontinued and replaced by the new Credit Limit system following an upgrade to Alibaba Cloud's credit control services. Your current Credit Limit reflects the remaining balance from your old Credit Pay account before the upgrade. After you settle any outstanding Credit Pay dues, your Credit Limit will be increased by the settled amount.