diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/CHANGELOG.md b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/CHANGELOG.md
index 6bd735e9fc9e3..151b4ccd06435 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,9 +6,12 @@ All notable changes to the Aptos Node SDK will be captured in this file. This ch
 
 ## Unreleased
 
-- add missing fields to TokenData class
-- add PropertyMap and PropertyValue type to match on-chain data
-- support token property map deseralizer to read the property map in the original data format.
+- Add missing fields to TokenData class
+- Add PropertyMap and PropertyValue type to match on-chain data
+- Support token property map deseralizer to read the property map in the original data format.
+- Allow `checkBalance` in `CoinClient` to take in a `MaybeHexString` as well as `AptosAccount`, since users might want to check the balance of accounts they don't own (which is generally how you use `AptosAccount`).
+- Similar to `checkBalance`, allow `transfer` in `CoinClient` to take in a `MaybeHexString` for the `receiver` argument.
+- Add a new `createReceiverIfMissing` argument to `transfer` in `CoinClient`. If set, the `0x1::aptos_account::transfer` function will be called instead of `0x1::coin::transfer`, which will create the account on chain if it doesn't exist instead of failing.
 
 
 ## 1.3.17 (2022-11-08)
diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/abis.ts b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/abis.ts
index addd96ffd0767..7e56889b34dfa 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/abis.ts
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/abis.ts
@@ -9,9 +9,26 @@ export const TOKEN_TRANSFER_OPT_IN =
 
 /*
 Follow these steps to get the ABI strings:
-1. Compile the Move packages with Aptos CLI. e.g. aptos move compile --package-dir ./aptos-move/framework/aptos-token
-2. Find the ABI files under the `build` directory and convert the ABI files to hex strings. On Mac and Linux, this can
-be done with `cat <ABI_FILE_PATH> | od -v -t x1 -A n | tr -d ' \n'`
+
+Go to the package directory of the relevant Move module, e.g. if you're trying
+to get the ABI for the `transfer` function of `aptos_account.move`, go to
+the directory `aptos-move/framework/aptos-framework`.
+
+Compile the Move packages with the Aptos CLI:
+```
+aptos move compile --included-artifacts all
+```
+This `--included-artifacts all` argument is necessary to generate ABIs.
+
+Find the ABI files under the `build` directory and convert the ABI files to hex strings.
+On Mac and Linux, this can be done with this command:
+```
+cat <ABI_FILE_PATH> | od -v -t x1 -A n | tr -d ' \n'
+```
+For example:
+```
+cat build/AptosFramework/abis/aptos_account/transfer.abi | od -v -t x1 -A n | tr -d ' \n'
+```
 */
 export const TOKEN_ABIS = [
   // aptos-token/build/AptosToken/abis/token/create_collection_script.abi
@@ -39,4 +56,6 @@ export const TOKEN_ABIS = [
 export const COIN_ABIS = [
   // aptos-framework/build/AptosFramework/abis/coin/transfer.abi
   "01087472616E73666572000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000104636F696E3C205472616E73666572732060616D6F756E7460206F6620636F696E732060436F696E54797065602066726F6D206066726F6D6020746F2060746F602E0109636F696E5F747970650202746F0406616D6F756E7402",
+  // aptos-framework/build/AptosFramework/abis/aptos_account/transfer.abi
+  "01087472616e7366657200000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010d6170746f735f6163636f756e7400000202746f0406616d6f756e7402",
 ];
diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.test.ts b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.test.ts
index dda1ab47a1868..a7b08280bb1c0 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.test.ts
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.test.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 // Copyright (c) Aptos
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { AptosAccount, AptosAccountObject } from "./aptos_account";
+import { AptosAccount, AptosAccountObject, getAddressFromAccountOrAddress } from "./aptos_account";
+import { HexString } from "./hex_string";
 
 const aptosAccountObject: AptosAccountObject = {
   address: "0x978c213990c4833df71548df7ce49d54c759d6b6d932de22b24d56060b7af2aa",
@@ -74,3 +75,12 @@ test("Gets the resource account address", () => {
     "0xcbed05b37b6981a57f535c1f5d136734df822abaf4cd30c51c9b4d60eae79d5d",
   );
 });
+
+test("Test getAddressFromAccountOrAddress", () => {
+  const account = AptosAccount.fromAptosAccountObject(aptosAccountObject);
+  expect(getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(aptosAccountObject.address!).toString()).toBe(aptosAccountObject.address);
+  expect(getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(HexString.ensure(aptosAccountObject.address!)).toString()).toBe(
+    aptosAccountObject.address,
+  );
+  expect(getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(account).toString()).toBe(aptosAccountObject.address);
+});
diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.ts b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.ts
index 4d562d36c1a09..1d61b64833096 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.ts
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/aptos_account.ts
@@ -177,3 +177,8 @@ export class AptosAccount {
     };
   }
 }
+
+// Returns an account address as a HexString given either an AptosAccount or a MaybeHexString.
+export function getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(accountOrAddress: AptosAccount | MaybeHexString): HexString {
+  return accountOrAddress instanceof AptosAccount ? accountOrAddress.address() : HexString.ensure(accountOrAddress);
+}
diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.test.ts b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.test.ts
index f5365730c453c..7ed7be4e3b027 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.test.ts
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.test.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { AptosAccount } from "./aptos_account";
 import { CoinClient } from "./coin_client";
 
 test(
-  "transferCoins and checkBalance works",
+  "transfer and checkBalance works",
   async () => {
     const client = new AptosClient(NODE_URL);
     const faucetClient = getFaucetClient();
@@ -21,6 +21,15 @@ test(
     await client.waitForTransaction(await coinClient.transfer(alice, bob, 42), { checkSuccess: true });
 
     expect(await coinClient.checkBalance(bob)).toBe(BigInt(42));
+
+    // Test that `createReceiverIfMissing` works.
+    const jemima = new AptosAccount();
+    await client.waitForTransaction(await coinClient.transfer(alice, jemima, 717, { createReceiverIfMissing: true }), {
+      checkSuccess: true,
+    });
+
+    // Check that using a string address instead of an account works with `checkBalance`.
+    expect(await coinClient.checkBalance(jemima.address().hex())).toBe(BigInt(717));
   },
   longTestTimeout,
 );
diff --git a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.ts b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.ts
index a4059880eabb2..272267bd90474 100644
--- a/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.ts
+++ b/ecosystem/typescript/sdk/src/coin_client.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 // Copyright (c) Aptos
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
 
-import { AptosAccount } from "./aptos_account";
+import { AptosAccount, getAddressFromAccountOrAddress } from "./aptos_account";
 import { AptosClient, OptionalTransactionArgs } from "./aptos_client";
-import { HexString } from "./hex_string";
+import { HexString, MaybeHexString } from "./hex_string";
 import { TransactionBuilderABI } from "./transaction_builder";
 import { COIN_ABIS } from "./abis";
 import { APTOS_COIN } from "./utils";
@@ -28,7 +28,14 @@ export class CoinClient {
 
   /**
    * Generate, sign, and submit a transaction to the Aptos blockchain API to
-   * transfer AptosCoin from one account to another.
+   * transfer coins from one account to another. By default it transfers
+   * 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin, but you can specify a different coin type
+   * with the `coinType` argument.
+   *
+   * You may set `createReceiverIfMissing` to true if you want to create the
+   * receiver account if it does not exist on chain yet. If you do not set
+   * this to true, the transaction will fail if the receiver account does not
+   * exist on-chain.
    *
    * @param from Account sending the coins
    * @param to Account to receive the coins
@@ -40,36 +47,48 @@ export class CoinClient {
   // :!:>transfer
   async transfer(
     from: AptosAccount,
-    to: AptosAccount,
+    to: AptosAccount | MaybeHexString,
     amount: number | bigint,
     extraArgs?: OptionalTransactionArgs & {
       // The coin type to use, defaults to 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin
       coinType?: string;
+      // If set, create the `receiver` account if it doesn't exist on-chain.
+      // This is done by calling `0x1::aptos_account::transfer` instead, which
+      // will create the account on-chain first if it doesn't exist before
+      // transferring the coins to it.
+      createReceiverIfMissing?: boolean;
     },
   ): Promise<string> {
+    // If none is explicitly given, use 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin as the coin type.
     const coinTypeToTransfer = extraArgs?.coinType ?? APTOS_COIN;
-    const payload = this.transactionBuilder.buildTransactionPayload(
-      "0x1::coin::transfer",
-      [coinTypeToTransfer],
-      [to.address(), amount],
-    );
+
+    // If we should create the receiver account if it doesn't exist on-chain,
+    // use the `0x1::aptos_account::transfer` function.
+    const func = extraArgs?.createReceiverIfMissing ? "0x1::aptos_account::transfer" : "0x1::coin::transfer";
+
+    // If we're using the `0x1::aptos_account::transfer` function, we don't
+    // need type args.
+    const typeArgs = extraArgs?.createReceiverIfMissing ? [] : [coinTypeToTransfer];
+
+    // Get the receiver address from the AptosAccount or MaybeHexString.
+    const toAddress = getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(to);
+
+    const payload = this.transactionBuilder.buildTransactionPayload(func, typeArgs, [toAddress, amount]);
+
     return this.aptosClient.generateSignSubmitTransaction(from, payload, extraArgs);
   } // <:!:transfer
 
   /**
-   * Generate, submit, and wait for a transaction to transfer AptosCoin from
-   * one account to another.
-   *
-   * If the transaction is submitted successfully, it returns the response
-   * from the API indicating that the transaction was submitted.
+   * Get the balance of the account. By default it checks the balance of
+   * 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin, but you can specify a different coin type.
    *
-   * @param account Account that you want to check the balance of.
+   * @param account Account that you want to get the balance of.
    * @param extraArgs Extra args for checking the balance.
    * @returns Promise that resolves to the balance as a bigint.
    */
   // :!:>checkBalance
   async checkBalance(
-    account: AptosAccount,
+    account: AptosAccount | MaybeHexString,
     extraArgs?: {
       // The coin type to use, defaults to 0x1::aptos_coin::AptosCoin
       coinType?: string;
@@ -77,7 +96,8 @@ export class CoinClient {
   ): Promise<bigint> {
     const coinType = extraArgs?.coinType ?? APTOS_COIN;
     const typeTag = `0x1::coin::CoinStore<${coinType}>`;
-    const resources = await this.aptosClient.getAccountResources(account.address());
+    const address = getAddressFromAccountOrAddress(account);
+    const resources = await this.aptosClient.getAccountResources(address);
     const accountResource = resources.find((r) => r.type === typeTag);
     return BigInt((accountResource!.data as any).coin.value);
   } // <:!:checkBalance