Since China started expanding its visa-free travel options and 72/240-hour visa-free transit policies to more countries last year, have you had friends or family come to Beijing to visit? Or maybe you know someone who’s planning a trip soon? If so, what essential tips would you share with them?
To help answer these questions, We had launched a new series focused on practical, must-know tips and hacks for short-term visitors to the capital. The goal is to make traveling to Beijing easier for overseas guests—and to make it simpler for you to host friends and family visiting from back home. Take a look and let us know what you think in the comments!
Paying for things in China can be incredibly easy for some travelers, while others may struggle—especially when it comes to setting up the country’s two main payment apps, WeChat Pay and Alipay.
One reader who responded to our questionnaire shared a story that perfectly fits this topic. It involved a family visiting China who ran into problems that could have been easily avoided.
The main traveler was a business professional who hadn’t been back to China in over ten years. She visited with her family and assumed they wouldn’t need a Chinese SIM card with a local phone number. Instead, they relied on international roaming to stay connected. At first, this didn’t seem like a big issue.
But China has changed a lot over the past decade. One of the biggest changes is how people pay. Today, mobile payments dominate—many places no longer accept cash or cards at all. Even when cash or cards are technically accepted, some businesses don’t carry enough change or simply aren’t set up to process card payments anymore.
To avoid these kinds of issues, the smartest move is to get a local SIM card at the airport as soon as you arrive. With a Chinese phone number, you can easily set up WeChat Pay or Alipay, making it possible to pay for almost everything during your stay smoothly and without stress.
Mobile Payment
Mobile payment is by far the most common and convenient way to pay in China. However, the payment apps you’re used to back home usually don’t work here. Instead, almost everyone in China uses WeChat and Alipay, which are accepted nearly everywhere.
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to link your bank card to each app:
How to Connect Your Bank Card with Alipay
- Download the Alipay App from the Android or iOS app store.
- Complete the registration process.
- Click “Me.”
- Select “Bank Cards.”
- Select “Add bank cards” (Visa, Mastercard, and JCB can all be added to Alipay)
- Tap “Add Now” and follow the on-screen instruction to complete the process.
- Congratulations, now you can use Alipay to make payments!
- To pay for offline purchases, you can choose to “Scan” the merchant’s QR code or have a merchant scan yours by clicking the “pay/receive” icon.
- Alipay English Service Hotline +86-571 2688 600
How to Connect Your Bank Card with WeChat Pay
- Download the WeChat app from the Android or iOS app store.
- Complete the registration process.
- Click “Me.”
- Click “WeChat Pay.”
- Select “Wallet.”
- Select “Cards.”
- Select “Add a Card” (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express. Diners Club, and Discovery cards can all be added to WeChat Pay).
- Follow on-screen instructions to complete the process.
- Congratulations, now you can use WeChat Pay to make payments!
- To pay for offline purchases, you can choose to “Scan” the merchant’s QR code or have a merchant scan yours by clicking the “pay/receive” icon.
- WeChat Pay English Service Hotline +86-571 95017
Debit or Credit Cards
Debit and credit cards with UnionPay, Visa, or Mastercard logos are accepted at many large hotels, malls, and major commercial venues. However, as mobile payments have taken over, card acceptance has become less common—especially at smaller places like local restaurants, bars, and street-side shops.
Cash
By law, all merchants in China must accept RMB cash, and you can withdraw cash from bank counters or ATM machines at airports and throughout the city. That said, cash is used less and less in daily life. Many businesses rely almost entirely on electronic payments and may not have enough change, especially if you pay with large bills.
ATM Tips
When withdrawing cash, look for ATM machines displaying the correct card network logos. These machines can be used to withdraw RMB with compatible foreign bank cards. If one ATM doesn’t work with your card, don’t get frustrated—just try another machine with the appropriate logos, and you should be able to withdraw cash without issues.
For more information on making payments in China, including with the new e-RMB, you can read the Guide to Payment Services in China.
images: Unsplash, Beijing Service