Payment setup
Set up Alipay with a foreign card
Almost everything in China is paid by QR code. This guide walks you through linking your Visa or Mastercard to Alipay before you arrive.
TL;DR
- ✓Almost everything is paid by QR code — set up Alipay before you fly, not on arrival.
- ✓Enter your passport name exactly, verify your ID, then add a Visa or Mastercard.
- ✓Make a tiny test payment while you're still home so you can fix any card issue in time.
Download Alipay from your App Store
Open the App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). Search for Alipay and install the free app.
Do this while you're still at home — you need unrestricted internet. Once in China, Google Play is blocked.
Search 'Alipay' — it's the blue icon with a white 'A'. The international version works for foreigners. Do NOT download 'Alipay HK' — that's a different app for Hong Kong.
Create an account with your phone number
Open Alipay → tap Sign Up → enter your phone number with country code.
You'll receive a 6-digit SMS code. Enter it to verify your number.
Set a login password — save it somewhere safe.
Use your home country phone number including the country code (e.g. +1 for US, +44 for UK). You'll get an SMS code to verify.
Verify your identity with your passport
Go to: Me → Pay → International Card → Verify Identity
You'll need to:
- Enter your passport number exactly as shown on your passport
- Take a selfie holding your passport open to the photo page
- The app uses facial recognition — good lighting helps
This step occasionally fails on the first try. If it does, close the app, wait 24 hours, and try again on a stable WiFi connection. Don't try more than twice in a row.
Add your foreign Visa or Mastercard
After identity verification, tap Add Card.
Enter your card details exactly as they appear on your card:
- 16-digit card number
- Expiry date (MM/YY)
- CVV (3 digits on back)
- Billing address
Alipay accepts foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Diners Club cards.
Some banks block international app transactions by default. If your card is declined, call your bank's international support line and ask them to whitelist 'Alipay transactions'. Then try again.
Cards from Revolut, Wise, and N26 tend to work well. If you have multiple cards, try your credit card first — debit cards sometimes fail.
Make a small test payment before you travel
This is the most important step most people skip.
Confirm your card works end-to-end now — top up your own balance or make a tiny merchant payment — before you're standing at a noodle stall in Shanghai with no backup.
If it fails here, you have time to call your bank and fix it. At the airport, you don't.
A foreign card pays merchants only — it can't send money to people or send red packets (红包). So don't test by 'sending ¥1 to a friend'; that fails even when your card is perfectly fine.
Top up your own Alipay balance with ¥10, or buy something tiny from a shop's QR code. This confirms the card and the currency conversion work end-to-end.
Alipay limits for foreign cards
Caps are the People's Bank of China policy ceilings (raised March 2024); same on WeChat Pay. Your live limit can be lower until passport verification — check Me → International Card. Foreign cards are merchant-only: no transfers to people, no red packets.