Originally Posted by 889

"While it's true that other people can juice your Wechat/Alipay accounts, it's obviously much better to control your own destiny."

Can we once and for all put to rest this notion of sending people off to get a red packet to open up Wechat Pay without a Chinese bank account?

Here, from the horse's mouth, is what Wechat says:

"According to regulations of the People's Republic of China, including the Administrative Measures for the Payment Services Provided by Non-financial Institutions, the Administrative Measures for Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Payment Institutions, and the Administrative Measures for the Web Payment Services Provided by Non-bank Institutions that came into effect on July 1, 2016, real-name authentication is required to for users of WeChat Wallet (RMB) to ensure payment security and protect the legitimate rights and interests all payment users so that they can enjoy more comprehensive and secure payment services.Therefore, after receving a red packet, the authentication must be completed by adding a debit card opened in Mainland China within 24 hours. If the real-name authentication has not been completed, the red packet will be returned."

https://kf.qq.com/touch/wxappfaq/161...2022ERZzm.html