Plan · Money
WeChat Pay and Alipay for foreigners
Until 2024, the only sane way to use mobile payments in China was to have a Chinese bank account. That changed. Both Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept foreign credit cards directly, with QR scanning indistinguishable from the locals. The setup is fiddly but the result works.
Alipay for foreigners — setup
1. Download Alipay on your home country's app store before you leave. 2. Register with your foreign mobile number (will receive an SMS code). 3. In Settings > International Card, link your Visa, Mastercard or American Express. 4. Complete the identity verification (passport scan + selfie).
WeChat Pay for foreigners — setup
1. Download WeChat (微信). Register with your foreign mobile. 2. Go to Me > Services > Wallet > Cards. Add a card. 3. Complete identity verification. 4. WeChat Pay can now be used by scanning merchant QR codes.
How payment works
Two patterns: - **Customer-scan**: merchant displays a QR code; you scan it with your app, type the amount, confirm. - **Merchant-scan**: you display your app's QR code; merchant scans it.
Both are universal in mainland China. Hotels, taxis, Didi, food delivery, tickets, bills, vending machines, beggar's bowls — everything has a QR code.
Limits
For foreign-card-funded payments via the international flow: - Single transaction limit: USD $5,000 equivalent for most foreign cards (¥35,000+). - Daily transaction total: USD $10,000. - Annual limit: USD $50,000. - Small transactions under ¥200 typically don't add to the cumulative cap. - Some merchants (small street vendors) only accept domestic-card-funded payments. Increasingly rare but possible.
Card processing fees
Foreign-card-funded transactions incur a 3% fee paid by the merchant, sometimes passed to the customer for amounts over ¥200. Below ¥200, fee-free.
What still requires a Chinese bank account
- High-value transactions over the foreign-card cap.
- Some online shopping checkout flows.
- Money transfer from Alipay/WeChat to other users.
Cash backup
Even with mobile payments working, carry ¥500–¥1,000 cash for the rare merchant who can't process foreign cards.