How to Make Mobile Payments in China
- A Practical Guide for Tourists -
Last Update: November 16, 2019
To say WeChat Pay and Alipay are “popular” payment methods in China is a gross understatement. It’s like China has leapt from a cash economy directly to cash-free society, bypassing the generation of credit cards on the way. Every vendor, every transaction, even random individuals selling items on the streets accepts these mobile payments. It’s a blessing and a curse. You don’t really need to carry cash anymore, but it also created problems for tourists. Your cash bills may be refused. Your credit cards are essentially useless. Therefore, it’s imperative that you do some preparation about money matters before traveling to China.
Until late 2019, Chinese bank cards were required by both Alipay and WeChat Pay if you want to set up their mobile payments. This means you’d have to open a Chinese bank account which is almost impossible for foreign tourists. Thankfully, since then both WeChat and Alipay have announced that they would support international credit cards. This is a huge relief for foreigners. Follow the steps below to get these accounts set up.
Do keep in mind that you will need to have internet connection when using mobile payments. You can easily get a Simcard with cheap data plan in China. If you have issue accessing restricted sites like Google, etc., read this article How to Get Around China’s Firewall – A Practical Guide to Access Restricted Sites.
Alipay
We have just tested this out and glad to report Alipay does seem to work with VISA and Mastercard!
Below is step-by-step instruction to set up and use Alipay.
How to set up AliPay?
Select “Me” at the bottom menu
Select “Bank Cards”
Select “Add bank card”
Input your information and you are all set!
How to use Alipay?
You have two options. You can either scan the vendor’s QR code, or have the the vendor scan your code. Most street vendors have their QR code up in their store so it’s easiest to scan their code and then tell them you’ve paid. In more formal settings, you may most likely need the vendor to scan your code.
To scan vendor’s code, go to the Alipay home screen and select “Scan”
To have the vendor scan your code, go to the Alipay home screen and select “Pay”
WeChat Pay
Although WeChat has announced that it also supports international credit cards following the move by its rival Alipay, unfortunately it doesn’t seem to work based on our test as of today.
Feel free to try out as I’m sure this function will be successfully implemented by WeChat soon. We’d also greatly appreciate if you can leave a comment and share your experience.
Below is the step-by-step instruction to set up and use WeChat Pay.
How to set up WeChat Pay?
Go to “Me” tab, select “WeChat Pay”
Select “Wallet”
Select “Cards” to set up a new card. However, we were not able to make this work with US credit card at the time we tried.
If you are able to set up your card, select “Balance” to top up the balance in your WeChat wallet
How to use WeChat Pay?
Similar to Alipay, you can either scan the vendor’s QR code, or have the vendor scan your code.
To scan vendor’s code, go to “Discover” tab and select “Scan”
To have the vendor scan your code, go to “Me” tab, select “WeChat Pay”, then select “Money”
Cash
Of course you should always carry some cash with you.
The Chinese currency is called Renminbi (RMB) or Yuan (CNY). There are plenty of foreign currency exchange counters in the country. Make sure you keep the receipt of the foreign exchange, otherwise when you leave China, you may not be able to exchange the Renminbi back to the foreign currency. There is ridiculous foreign exchange controls currently in China that restricts foreign currency outflows.
You can also easily take out Renminbi from ATMs as needed. 24-hour ATMs are virtually everywhere with English interface. Not every ATM machine accepts international cards though, so make sure you check the signs on the machine. It’s best to stick with major banks such as the Bank of China, ICBC, China Construction Bank, or HSBC. It’s also recommended to use ATMs attached to banks as counterfeit bills and debit/credit card thefts are rare but not impossible.
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