How European Teams Pay for AI APIs
Cards, crypto and the corporate invoice
QCode's documented rails are an international card (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX), crypto across 18+ networks with no platform fee, and — for a company — a bank transfer plus an invoice requested by email. What is not documented anywhere: SEPA direct debit, prices in euro, or a local EU invoice.
Updated 2026-10-01
Four numbers before you top up
Ways to fund an account
An international card, cryptocurrency, or a corporate bank transfer paired with an emailed invoice request.
Platform fee on crypto
The crypto path is verified on-chain by QCode itself rather than through a third-party payment gateway, so no extra cut is taken.
Crypto networks
USDT and USDC are each documented across 18+ networks — pick the chain your wallet already holds coins on.
Invoice fee below CNY 2,000
A flat CNY 80 while the invoice value stays under CNY 2,000; 5% of the value at CNY 2,000 and above. The fee is deducted from your balance.
What the three rails actually are
An international card payment (Visa, Mastercard, AMEX) is the default self-service route and needs nothing but the card. The crypto route sends USDT, USDC or another supported coin on a network QCode lists, is verified on-chain directly, and carries no platform fee. The corporate route is a transfer from the company account followed by an invoice request by email — that is the only path that produces paperwork a finance department can point at. All three land in the same account balance.
Why European buyers ask about this
Two things come up repeatedly: cross-border card payments can be declined after issuer and clearing checks, and self-serve payment rarely produces an invoice a European finance team can book. QCode's own pages document both problems — the first as a reason multiple independent rails exist, the second as the reason bank transfer and invoicing are offered separately.
The three rails at a glance
International Visa / Mastercard / AMEX at the checkout, instant, self-service — subject to the issuer's cross-border review.
USDT / USDC and other listed coins across 18+ networks, verified on-chain, no third-party gateway and no platform fee.
Bank transfer from the company account, then an invoice requested by email; a formal service agreement for larger contracts.
Documented vs. needs your own check
Documented on QCode's pages
International cards (Visa / Mastercard / AMEX) are supported, as is crypto including USDT and USDC across 18+ networks with the crypto path bypassing a third-party gateway and charging zero platform fee. Companies can pay by bank transfer, a proper Chinese VAT invoice is available with a two-band processing fee (CNY 80 / 5%), a formal service agreement can be signed for larger contracts, and requests go to hi@qcode.cc against a balance that must already cover the fee. Enterprise team plans are provisioned in about an hour during business hours once funds arrive.
Not documented — verify before relying on it
Nothing on QCode's pages documents SEPA direct debit, an EU-issued VAT invoice, or an automatic invoice for every top-up — invoices are requested, not issued. The balances QCode describes are the USD and CNY ones, tracked separately. Whether your specific European card clears today is decided by the issuer and the clearing network, not by this page. And whether a Chinese VAT invoice is usable in your books is a question for your own finance team.
Self-service vs. buying as a company
Individuals and small teams: pay yourself
Top up with an international card or crypto and start calling immediately; ask for an invoice by email when you need one, at the two fee bands above. Fine when the amount is modest and the expense process is simple.
Companies: transfer plus invoice
Pay from the company account, request the invoice by email, and sign a formal service agreement where the contract is large. Suited to purchases that need paperwork, an input document, or a bigger amount.
What to do for a first European top-up
Step 1 — pick the rail you already have: a card that is enabled for cross-border use, or stablecoins in a wallet. Step 2 — test with a small first top-up and confirm the balance lands before committing a larger amount. Step 3 — if the card path is declined, switch rail instead of retrying the same charge repeatedly. Step 4 — before a purchase that must be expensed, email hi@qcode.cc to confirm the invoice details, and check with your own finance team that a Chinese VAT invoice works for your books.
On QCode
In the console you choose the channel directly — card, crypto, or the corporate path — and whatever lands becomes one unified balance usable against every model family on sale, regardless of which rail funded it. QCode states the price basis as the official price multiplied by a service rate set per provider, and CNY and USD balances are tracked separately: they do not offset each other, so decide which one you need before topping up.
FAQ
Will a European card work?
International Visa / Mastercard / AMEX are listed as supported. Cross-border payments still pass the issuing bank's and the clearing network's own review, so a given charge can be declined; QCode documents cards, crypto and the corporate transfer as independent fallbacks rather than promising any single rail always works.
Do you support SEPA?
Not as something documented. What QCode describes for company payments is a bank transfer from the company account plus an invoice requested by email — that is the closest analogue, and a corporate transfer is not bound by the per-transaction caps that apply to the self-service channels.
Is there a price in euro?
No euro pricing is published on the pages this batch could check. QCode documents USD and CNY balances and a price basis of official price multiplied by a service rate, so treat the currency you actually top up in as the one you are billed in.
Why crypto if I have a card?
Because the crypto route skips a third-party gateway and takes no platform cut, so the dollar equivalent you send is what reaches your balance, and it does not depend on a card authorisation. It is irreversible, though — check the receiving address and network before sending.
Can my team expense it?
That is the part to settle before paying. The documented invoice is a Chinese VAT invoice, requested by email with the title, tax ID, amount and invoice type, and it carries the two-band fee. Whether that is bookable in a European finance system is your finance team's call, not something this page can promise.
Can I get money back?
No. Withdrawals are not supported and a top-up is not refundable once provisioned; QCode documents balance transfers between accounts instead, handled by email, usually within one business day. The one exception is upgrading a plan, where unused time is credited back to the QCode balance pro rata.
Sources
Payment rails, network count and the zero platform fee: QCode's published payment guide and its dedicated crypto page. Invoice fee bands, corporate transfer, per-transaction caps, separate CNY and USD balances, and the refund terms: QCode's invoicing and corporate-payment page and the enterprise FAQ (checked 2026-09-02 on that page). Price basis: the /models page note. The checkout page and our email confirmations govern where they differ.
Pick the rail that works for you
Card, crypto or corporate transfer — one balance either way, usable across all seven model families.
Related reading
Paying from Russia
The same question in another constrained market: instant bank transfer, local cards, crypto.
Invoicing and corporate payment
Fee bands, the request process and the transfer flow in full.
Crypto top-up guide
Coins, networks and how settlement is verified.
This page states which payment methods QCode documents today. It is not a guarantee that any channel is available in every situation, and it is not tax advice; the payment page at the moment you use it governs.