Originally Posted by
Majuki
I haven't tried inputting the card into a WeChat wallet. There was an example somewhere - I forget if it was here or another forum - of either WeChat or Alipay, but it required a friend "on the inside" to add the card manually.
The US ICBC UnionPay card is independent of the checking account, and acts like a credit card. There are some quirks with this card where it can act like a debit card if manufactured spending is your thing, but that's outside of the scope of this thread and best left as an exercise for the end user.
I signed up for a checking account when I applied for the card in branch at South San Francisco two years ago, but it's not required. Initially you couldn't do a direct bill pay from ICBC's website and had to push the payment from another checking account. However, the third party checking account functionality has been present since early 2017.
Many thanks Majuki! I did read someone here whose friend works at AliPay. So no go for the general public.
Good to know (in the U.S.) UP card is a credit card, not debit. I have *other* cards for manufactured spending, so I'm strictly planning to use this in China (so that I don't get laughed at the next time I produce a credit card there).
So it sounds like the main benefit of a U.S. ICBC UP card is strictly for paying with the physical card in China then.... as long as the vendor still has a POS machine, and not some QR code for WeChat, correct?
And I know this may be off-topic but I would love to hear from those who has successfully put in a U.S. based credit card onto their WeChat, since WeChat Pay seems to be the future.
Thx!