The Moonshot API uses a prepaid model: an account needs a balance before it can make calls. Three decisions are easy to get wrong when topping up: which site receives the money, which entity makes the payment, and what basis the invoice uses. This article breaks down official and gateway top-up along the procurement process, covering currency, invoices, balance alerts, refunds, and reimbursement. Specific prices follow the model pricing page.

Note: Moonshot and Kimi are trademarks of their respective owners. This article describes technical and procurement processes only and does not imply any affiliation with or agency for the trademark owners. Top-up rules, invoice policies, and refund terms may change; before acting, follow the official top-up agreement and the prompts on the page.

1. Confirm Which Account Receives the Money

As of October 2026, the old documentation domain platform.moonshot.cn redirects to platform.kimi.com, and the international site uses platform.kimi.ai. The two sites are independent: a China-site key used against the international site returns 401, and balances are not shared. Money added to the wrong site will not take effect.

Account type Entry point Settlement currency Suitable for
Official China site platform.kimi.com RMB Domestic entities, domestic business, RMB invoices
Official international site platform.kimi.ai Per the billing page Overseas entities, overseas payment
ZSQH AI Gateway In-site console RMB Unified top-up and invoicing across models

Before purchasing, confirm the Base URL and where the key comes from, then have finance confirm the receiving entity. Projects under the same organization usually share a balance but can each have their own budget, which avoids the situation where "money was added but the project has no quota."

2. Official Top-Up: Personal and Enterprise Paths

Individual users complete real-name verification first, then scan a QR code with WeChat or Alipay. Enterprise users complete enterprise verification first, which usually requires the company name, Unified Social Credit Code, and a bank account matching the entity; the platform may deposit a random amount into the corporate account for finance to confirm.

There are two enterprise top-up paths: online QR payment, which arrives immediately, and corporate bank transfer, which generally takes one to five business days and posts to the balance about ten minutes after confirmation. Allow time when a payment crosses a month boundary.

  1. Sign in to the China site and confirm the organization name and verification status.
  2. Individuals complete personal verification; enterprises complete enterprise verification and corporate-account validation.
  3. Open the top-up page and confirm the receiving entity and the current site.
  4. Read the top-up agreement, choose the amount and payment method; for large enterprise amounts, transfer from the verified entity's corporate account.
  5. Save the receipt, follow up on arrival, verify the balance on the billing page, and set a low-balance alert.
  6. Send one minimal request to confirm the key, Base URL, and balance are all working.

The paying entity must match the verified entity. Subsidiaries, affiliates, or individuals paying on behalf of the company may be returned, and may even trigger risk controls. If a third party claims that a payment was made without permission, the platform may lock the account and keys, and the user must provide proof of permission within the stated period. Do not use an employee's personal account for large top-ups.

3. Currency, Exchange Rates, and Cross-Border Payment

The China site prices and settles in RMB, and domestic entities pay by WeChat, Alipay, or corporate transfer. The international site settles in the currency shown on the billing page; overseas card networks may charge currency conversion fees, and the exchange rate follows the issuing bank or payment channel. Balances cannot be moved between the two sites, and invoices from one cannot be reimbursed against the other.

Gateway top-up is usually priced in RMB, and the payment page shows the amount due and the invoicing basis. Before paying, confirm whether the quote includes tax, whether a channel fee applies, and which entity issues the invoice.

Cross-border procurement also needs the contract entity and the paying entity to match; otherwise audit explanations become more expensive. When exchange rates are volatile, leave a buffer in the budget rather than locking the annual budget to the rate of the day.

4. How Invoices Are Issued

Invoices are requested on the invoice page. Two common bases are available: by top-up amount or by actual consumption. Invoicing by top-up suits early reimbursement, but the unused portion is already invoiced; invoicing by consumption is closer to actual cost but requires regular requests. Whether you can switch and how often invoices are issued depend on the page.

A personally verified account can issue an invoice to an individual or company title; an enterprise verified account can only issue invoices to the verified entity's title. The official finance page states that the invoicing entity is Beijing Moonshot AI Technology Co., Ltd., the item is technical service fees, and the tax rate is 6%. Actual items, rates, and remarks follow the invoicing page.

Before invoicing, check the title and tax number, the invoicing basis, the invoice type, and the remarks. If the title is wrong, a red-letter reversal and reissue take time, and cross-month reimbursement is easily held up. Gateway invoices follow the gateway's rules; multi-model procurement can be covered by one invoice, but confirm the entity and item before paying.

5. Balance, Alerts, and Rate Limits

The official platform provides a balance query endpoint that can be connected to monitoring. The China-site balance is denominated in RMB, and available_balance usually includes cash and vouchers; when it is at or below zero, inference requests fail with exceeded_current_quota_error. The response also includes data.cash_balance and data.voucher_balance; a key that does not match the site usually returns 401.

curl "https://api.moonshot.cn/v1/users/me/balance" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOONSHOT_API_KEY"

Monitoring should cover four layers:

  • Balance alerts: enable the low-balance SMS alert in the console and adjust the threshold to your consumption rate.
  • Daily consumption spikes: trigger an alert when usage is clearly above the seven-day average.
  • Project budgets: set daily or monthly budgets per project; requests are rejected after the cap, though enforcement may lag by about ten minutes.
  • Failed-request classification: distinguish insufficient balance, rate limiting, capacity overload, and server errors.

The top-up amount also affects account tier. The platform assigns tiers by cumulative top-up, and the tier determines concurrency, RPM, TPM, TPD, and search QPS limits; vouchers are usually excluded from the cumulative total. Look at both balance and limits when purchasing, or you may have money but not enough concurrency.

6. Refunds, Balance Validity, and Disputes

The official top-up agreement states that top-ups are usually non-refundable unless service termination is caused by the platform; unused balances cannot be freely withdrawn, account balances have no expiry date, but they cannot be transferred or gifted. The platform may withhold prepayments in cases of violation. Before a large top-up, have legal and finance read the agreement; do not treat the balance as a deposit available for withdrawal at any time.

Third-party payment, employee advances, and affiliate payments can all create ownership disputes. Keep contracts, payment receipts, permission statements, and invoices so that you have material if an account lock or refund dispute occurs. Run a small test first to confirm the key, balance, invoice, and rate limits meet expectations, then prepay a larger amount.

7. Gateway Top-Up: When It Fits Better

The ZSQH AI Gateway is a separate account system. Money added there becomes a gateway balance, not an official Moonshot balance. Its value is mainly on the procurement side: RMB payment, one account across models, unified bills and invoices, and no separate top-ups when switching models. The trade-off is that model scope and parameter support follow the gateway documentation.

Where to draw the line:

  • If you use one model, have a simple finance process, and need a direct official connection, prefer official top-up.
  • If you use several model families and want one invoice covering multiple vendors, a gateway is less work.
  • Keep core business direct and route testing through the gateway.

After registering for the ZSQH AI Gateway, you can view the currency and invoicing notes on the top-up page. Prices and billing rules follow the model pricing page.

8. Enterprise Procurement Checklist

Ask finance, legal, and business owners to confirm the following:

  1. Whether the operating entity, site, organization name, and Base URL match.
  2. Whether the verification status and corporate account meet enterprise top-up requirements.
  3. The top-up amount, currency, payment path, and expected arrival time.
  4. Invoice title, tax number, item, tax rate, invoicing basis, and cycle.
  5. Whether the account tier and concurrency, RPM, TPM, and TPD limits meet peak demand.
  6. Whether low-balance alerts and project daily/monthly budgets are configured.
  7. Whether the contract, purchase order, payment receipt, invoice, and bill can be matched.
  8. Whether refund conditions and the non-transferable balance clause have been communicated to the relevant people.

FAQ

Why has the balance not arrived after top-up?

QR payments usually arrive immediately; corporate transfers generally take one to five business days, and post to the balance about ten minutes after the platform confirms. First check whether the paying entity matches the verified entity, then check the receipt and billing page.

What if I top up the wrong site?

China-site and international-site balances and keys are not shared. Stop topping up, keep the evidence, and follow customer support guidance; do not keep retrying.

Should invoices be issued by top-up amount or consumption?

Both are possible, depending on your reimbursement rhythm. Invoicing by top-up suits early reimbursement, but the unused portion is already invoiced; invoicing by consumption is closer to actual cost but requires regular requests.

Can Moonshot API top-ups be refunded?

The official agreement usually states that top-ups are non-refundable unless service termination is caused by the platform, and unused balances cannot be freely withdrawn. Read the agreement and consult support before a large top-up.

Can a top-up raise concurrency and rate limits?

Account tiers are assigned by cumulative top-up amount and affect concurrency, RPM, TPM, TPD, and similar limits; vouchers are usually excluded. Capacity overload is a server-side issue that a top-up cannot directly remove, so follow the official rate-limit documentation.

Next Steps

Confirm the site, entity, and invoicing basis first, then decide between official top-up and gateway top-up. Teams that need a multi-model RMB account can register for the ZSQH AI Gateway; prices and available models follow the model pricing page.

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