TOOLKIT / MONEY
How to Pay in China as a Foreigner
China runs on mobile payments. Cash is legal tender but often impractical; foreign credit cards work at big hotels and almost nowhere else. The good news: as a visitor you can use Alipay and WeChat Pay with your foreign bank card. Set both up before you leave home — verification sometimes needs a day.
The 15-minute setup (do this at home)
Alipay: 1. Install Alipay, register with your mobile number, and complete identity verification with your passport (photo of the photo page + a selfie). 2. Go to Account → Bank Cards → add your Visa/Mastercard debit or credit card. 3. Make a small test if possible, and make sure you remember your payment password.
WeChat: 1. Install WeChat, register, then open Me → Services → Wallet. 2. Verify identity with your passport and link the same (or another) foreign card. 3. WeChat Pay is the backup when a merchant only takes WeChat — common at small shops.
Two apps, two cards. Never rely on a single app or a single card. Verification prompts, transaction limits, and the occasional declined foreign card are normal — redundancy is the strategy.
Paying day to day
- Scan their code: most shops display a QR code — open Alipay → Scan, enter the amount, confirm.
- Show your code: some places scan you — open Alipay → Pay/Receive → show the barcode/QR to the cashier.
- Metro and buses: in Alipay, open the Transport mini-program for the city you're in and activate the metro QR. One QR per city.
- Street food and markets: Alipay first, WeChat second, cash third.
Cash and cards as backup
- Bring RMB 300–500 in mixed small notes. Get them from your home bank or a Chinese bank ATM on arrival (ATMs with the Visa/Mastercard logo work with foreign debit cards).
- Carry two physical bank cards from different banks. Notify both banks of your travel dates.
- Say no to "dynamic currency conversion" (paying in your home currency at the terminal) — the exchange rate is worse. Always choose RMB.
What goes wrong (and the fix)
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Card declined in Alipay | Try the other app, or the other card; some banks block China by default — call them |
| Verification loop asking for documents again | Complete it on Wi-Fi with good lighting; it usually clears within a day |
| Merchant only takes cash | Small notes save you — this is why you carry RMB 300–500 |
| Payment password forgotten | Reset it in the app now, not at a checkout counter |
The one rule
Always have two independent ways to pay. Two apps, or one app plus cash, or two cards. Every payment horror story from China starts with "my only method stopped working."
Our city itineraries put all of this into a day-by-day plan — free to read.
Last verified 2026-10-03. Procedures and limits change — check official sources before you travel.