According to the People's Bank of China (PBC), the central bank has released payment guidelines for foreigners in China, which cover a range of payment services including the mobile payment, bank cards, and cash. This guide will introduce the acquisition methods and usage procedures for various payment services.
Bank Card
Bank cards issued in your home country/region can be accepted if logos of UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and other payment organizations are displayed at the checkout counter (see picture above). If not, please ask the cashier whether your bank card can be accepted. If you hold a UnionPay card, it can be accepted by all merchant POS terminals in China's mainland.
Mobile Payment
You can enjoy convenient payments with just a mobile phone. Payment services such as Alipay, Weixin Pay and UnionPay are available. For better payment experience, no IDs are required for transactions under a certain amount. Give it a go!
Alipay
(1) Search for Alipay in the app store or on its official website, and download the app.
(2) Open the app, and register with your phone number or just sign in if you have already registered.
(3) Add bank cards as shown below. Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club, and Discover cards can all be added to Alipay. Tap "Add Now" and follow on-page prompts to complete the process.
(4) Pay by scanning QR code. You can pay by scanning a merchant's QR code (option 1) or by having a merchant scan yours (option 2). Follow the instructions in the app to complete payment process.
Option 1: Tap "Scan", and scan the merchant-presented QR code.
Option 2: Tap "Pay/Receive", and present your QR code to the merchant.
Alipay English Service Hotline: +86-571 2688 6000
Weixin Pay
(1) Search for WeChat in the app store, and download it.
(2) Open the WeChat app, and register with your phone number or just sign in if you have already registered.
(3) Add bank cards as shown below. Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club, and Discover cards can all be added to Weixin Pay. Tap "Add a card" and follow on-page prompts to complete the process.
(4) Pay by scanning QR code. You can pay by scanning a merchant's QR code (method 1) or by having a merchant scan yours (method 2).
Method 1: Tap the "+" sign at the upper right corner and then the "Scan" icon, and scan the merchant-presented QR code.
Method 2: Tap the "+" sign at the upper right corner and then the "Money" icon, and present your QR code to the merchant.
Weixin Pay English Service Hotline: +86-95017
UnionPay
(1) Download the UnionPay app in the app store or from its official website.
(2) Register with your phone number and enable the payment function.
(3) Add bank cards as shown below. It only supports linking UnionPay cards issued in certain places such as Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR. Tap "Add Now" and follow the onscreen instructions to complete the process.
(4) Pay by scanning QR code. You can pay by scanning a merchant's QR code (method 1) or by having a merchant scan yours (method 2).
Method 1: Tap "Scan", and scan the merchantpresented QR code.
Method 2: Tap "Pay/Collect", and present your QR code to the merchant.
UnionPay English Service Hotline: +86-95516
From: the People's Bank of China
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