How To Use AliPay & WeChatPay Without Chinese Bank - Part #1

Are you planning to travel to China for the first time ? If yes, you’ll better know that for “first-timer“, paying your daily expenses in China might be as difficult as trying to understand chinese language for a beginner… Continue this reading to learn how to use AliPay in 7 easy steps.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES:

True story : When I first arrived in China, I was disoriented in a poor/wealthy situation(a what?). Translation : I had a bank account full of sleeping money but… without the possibility to use it with my credit card. Quite frustrating, trust me. You want to avoid this situation and to do so : I share with you this fast 2 parts payment guide to facilitate your arrival in China.

CHINA’S WAY OF PAYMENT:

Indeed, the huge majority of stores does not accept foreign cards like Mastercard or Visa (great surprise when you do not know it!) because chinese people are mainly paying with… QR code ! So your only option is to have your pocket full of cash with all the mountain of disadvantages behind it – with all the withdrawal changes fees – & of course, when you can find the good ATM to withdraw…

So, my advice to you is to throw away your foreigner payment habits, to fully adopt the Chinese way of living by diving into the QR code & mobile payment dimension!

ALIPAY & WECHATPAY :

Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChatPay are the two QRcode mobile payment giants in China, and the majority of the population pays thank to those platforms via mobile phones.

THE 05/11/2019 BIG CHANGE :

Back in the old days, only chinese cards were able to be linked, letting behind all the foreigners. But then on Tuesday 5^th of November 2019, Alibaba announced its partnership with JCB, DGN, Visa, MasterCard and American Express for a new launch: an AliPay version dedicated to support international cards. Few hours later, Tencent followed the initiative with a same announcement on WeChat Pay.

WeChatPay and Alipay will be open to international users for the first time, and if you want to pay your utility bills, order food on Ele.me, order a driver on Didi or simply order anythings on Taobao…

This is your steps-by-steps guide from Alipay on how to use Alipay like a pro without any chinese bank account :

7 STEPS ON HOW TO USE ALIPAY :

1 – Download Alipay App and log in with your overseas mobile phone number

2 – Choose Alipay International Version

3 – Tap Tour Pass

4 – Select load amount

5 – Verify your identity and add bank card

6 – Complete load money and you’re good to go

7 – Scan or show your QR code to pay at Alipay enabled stores

NOW BE FREE !

You can now live your life to the fullest, you now know how to use AliPay as a foreigner. Quick reminder : Alipay is an online payment solution created in 2004 by Alibaba Group from Jack Ma. As of mid2019, Alipay users reached +900 million. What makes it the number one mobile payment provider worldwide.

It has been a pleasure to help you on your chinese adventure. Next time for the Part #2, we will help you to use WeChatPay without Chinese Bank !

15 Comments

Kassmarek clement on November 24, 2019 at 1:53 am

Thank you for the help, it was very useful!

Juan on November 24, 2019 at 1:57 am

Hola!
Muchas gracias por sus informaciones
Me necesitaba saber todo eso, tenia demasiada preguntas antes

Gracias!

Borges Maxime on November 24, 2019 at 2:04 am

Thanks a lot for your help !

Kevin boutchoko on November 24, 2019 at 2:05 am

Thanks for your help
The article is very useful in English

Nolwenn Heimen on November 24, 2019 at 1:05 pm

Oh so nice, now I just need to send the tuto to my family, for when they will visit !

Bourgeois on November 24, 2019 at 3:44 pm

Thanks mate,

Now, no bad surprises when you wanna pay in China, you follow this tutorial and you’re free to go!

Caroline on November 25, 2019 at 3:43 am

Great and useful article 😀
I’m definitely going to read this again when I will prepare my exchange semester in China !!

Mathieu on November 26, 2019 at 6:01 pm

Thanks for this article in english very useful for my future visit to China.

Artur on November 28, 2019 at 5:20 pm

Nice one! A really good and informative tutorial about the usage of mobile payment in China!
Easy to read and understand. I was always not a fan ob this system, but the article gave me more insights and information about.
I will definitely implement this in my next China trip.

Well done! Thank you!