I created a new Alipay account and did all the validation steps with a US passport. Specifically this involves taking a picture of the passport, setting a username, selecting an avatar, login password, and doing facial verification (looking at the camera and blinking). There is one caveat that I created the account with a Chinese phone number (under Settings > Switch Version, it says "Standard", not "International (For non-Chinese mainland users)"). It is possible that linking this to a mainland phone number unlocks additional functionality. When I switched my WeChat to use a mainland number, it said that I would switch from using "WeChat" to using "微信“ and all my data would be migrated to the Chinese server in 10 days. There's probably some functional difference that I haven't figured out yet.
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35206913-post341.html
Originally Posted by
Jamester
Yes, that is true for WeChat (i.e. we're all screwed without a Chinese ID and/or bank account) but I thought AliPay accepts foreign passports (for its real name verification) as long as you own a Chinese cell number which is easy to get from eBay. Granted you would still be considered "second class citizen" and will have lower limits in terms of how much balance you carry, but if I recall still in the CNY 9000-10,000 range (which is about USD 1,500-2,000 - enough if you're just a tourist). The tourist version of all these are a joke, of course.
Under Settings > Bank Cards > Add Bank Card, it says the following are supported: Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, Discover, and UnionPay.
I added my Chase Sapphire Reserve. Amusingly adding a billing address is optional, so I skipped it. After you put in a number, you select a bank, and "Visa" is an option.
I then tried to add my ICBC (USA) Preferred UnionPay Gold Card. If you select "ICBC" as the bank it fails as it's not from ICBC China. There's no standalone UnionPay option so this card can't be added.
I had great success with using this system. After scanning a code you put in your card's CVV to complete the transaction. I used it at a vending machine, street vendor (business account), and restaurant (personal account) without failure. The only failure cases so far are when people insisted on using WeChat Pay instead of AliPay...
I tried to send a friend money but it says my Visa card is not a supported payment method. My friend sent me money successfully to my balance. I was able to then send the money back successfully. So I guess I’m in the system now. Would be interesting if someone tries this without a Chinese number and if the functionality is different.