How to Pay Easily in China
By xiaoyue \Update June 6.2025
Maybe you have heard and seen some information about how to pay in China from friends or the Internet, as a native Chinese, let me tell you more and more accurate information, and be prepared so that you can immediately pay as a local when you arrive in China.
In our daily life, we rarely use cash to pay, let alone use physical bank cards to make purchases, but we can still see POS machines for swiping cards in some high-end hotels or restaurants that foreigners often go to.
All we need is a smartphone that can help you with almost everything you need in life. In addition to payment, I will introduce other mobile app features to you in other articles.
Paying with smartphones is part of our daily life in china. It can be a bit like Apple Pay, but hardly anyone uses it in China.
The most commonly used payment software is AliPay or WeChatpay, which you can learn more about through the links below.
How to Use Alipay ？
Alipay is part of Alibaba, China’s largest e-commerce company, you may have heard of Taobao (similar to ebay) and yes, it is also part of Alibaba. Alipay is now China’s largest mobile payment platform, and is widely used as a payment tool in everyday life.
Here’s a chart to show you how to sign up and use Alipay.
- Now Alipay supports international mobile phone number registration, s
- Alipay can bind almost all types of international bank cards, such as Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, Discover, JCB, as well as mainland China bank cards with ‘Union Pay’ logo.
When you need to pay, you can click ‘scan’ to scan the merchant’s payment code, enter the amount, click to confirm the payment and finish.
- Alternatively, click on ‘pay’ to present the payment code and the merchant scans it to make the payment, which usually happens in relatively large shops.
- Mini Programs of Alipay:Alipay has embedded a lot of mini-programs, such as taking the bus, online car, booking hotels, ordering takeout, etc., of course, these small programs usually have their own independent APP. This way to provide users with a lot of convenience, eliminating the need to download multiple APPs and the trouble of switching between different APPs.
Here are a few common functions For bus/subway/rides.
- Internet taxi, shared bicycle, shared charging treasure, translation, exchange rate inquiry
Translation: Supports text, voice and photo translation
Didi travel：Internet taxi (similar to Uber), also with a stand-alone app (link: see “Getting around like a local – by taxi or internet taxi”)
Hello ride：Shared bikes, swipe and ride, automatic deduction (link: see Getting Around Like a Local – Riding a Shared Bike)
Railroad 12306：Official ticket purchasing channel with independent APP
Dian.so:xiaodian：Shared charging treasure, scan code – take out the charging treasure – use – return the charging treasure – automatic deduction of charges
TripHotels: Hotel Reservation
Ele：takeaways
Important:
If you encounter any problems while using Alipay, then you can get help in the following three ways。
- Official Website: https://cshall.alipay.com/lab/selfHelp.htm
- overseas users customer service hotline: +86 571 95188
- x：@Alipay
How to use WeChatpay ？
WeChat，we called ‘WeiXin’ in China, is a comprehensive instant messaging and social networking tool (similar to WhatsApp) that is widely used in China, and belongs to Tencent, another Internet giant in China.
WeChat pay is actually a payment module integrated in WeChat, which is also widely used for daily payments, even more frequently than Alipay.
With this official WeChat video below, you'll learn how to sign up for WeChat and use WeChatpay
- WeChat supports the registration of international phone cards and the binding of international bank cards.
- If you want to use a Chinese phone card to register, you will have more abundant functions to use, such as transferring or buying insurance, etc.
- If you want to know how to buy a cheap and good Chinese SIM card, please see ‘How to communicate and access the Internet during travelling in China like in your own country
Using WeChatpay while traveling in China is a great option.
Using WeChatpay while traveling in China is a great option.
You can also use the WeChat Mini Program to easily complete your ticket booking!
By entering the name of the venue you want to book in the WeChat search bar (English supported), the official booking applet or public number will be displayed in the search results, click on it to enter, and then you can book your tickets.
IMPORTANT: You can visit the wechat help center directly if you have any questions about wechat payment, card binding and usage.
Finally, there are a few more suggestions for you to use mobile payment in China.
1、Alipay and WeChat are both widely used, and WeChat is used more frequently, you can choose according to your personal preference, but Alipay is better for international travelers, in fact, I suggest you can download both apps in your phone, just in case one of them has problems.
2、 Paying with your samrt phone requires an internet connection. For more information on how to access the internet in China, see “How to communicate and access the internet during your trip to China as if you were in your own country?”.
3、Of course, if you are accustomed to using cash, you can do so, but many stores will not have enough change, which may cause you trouble or inconvenience. In any case, it is recommended that you exchange a small amount of Chinese cash (RMB), usually no more than RMB 500, before you leave, just in case.
4、Sometimes, you may find that you can’t pay after scanning certain payment codes, and the bound bank card (non-Chinese debit card) is displayed in gray and can’t be used. This is because the payment code is a personal code, not a company code, and you can’t use an international card or credit card (even if it’s a Chinese credit card) to pay directly, which is often the case with street vendors. Of course this is not your problem, in this case either use cash or you need someone else to transfer your balance and pay using the balance.
5、E-wallet users using AlipayHK, WeChatpayHK, mPAY, kakao Pay, Touch’n, GoeWallet, Hipay, Changi Pay, OCBC Bank, Naver Pay, Toss Pay, TrueMoney, can directly use these wallets to scan and pay in China