Jun 7, 2023, 10:09 am
Last edit by: gudugan
China has largely moved to a cashless system with two widely accepted payment apps, AliPay and WeChat Pay. Both require extensive identity verification. Assuming you do not live in China (i.e. you are visiting for tourism/short term business, do NOT have a residence permit):
If you are coming for multiple visits:
Go to a China Mobile or China Unicom store and get a cell phone number (estimated time 2.5 hours). Ideally go to the largest branch with most representatives as they will have the best chance of figuring it out. All you need is your passport and cash to pay the initial deposit (I brought Y200). Tourist visa is fine. You want to open this in the area that you will spend the most time in, as they may give you data locked to your province. I am paying Y40 for 12GB data (you need to keep the plan active in some form, even when you are outside of China). More details in https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35217727-post24.html
If you are coming for a one time visit (maximum 10,000 CNY in 180 day period). This method is not currently recommended as the fees are higher than the above method and ID verification is still required.
Currently it is not recommended to open a bank account.
If you are coming for multiple visits:
- July 2023 update: A phone number does not seem to be required any more.
- [Optional but recommended] Open a new AliPay account (even if you have an existing one) because your old one could be in a weird state.
- Verify your passport with AliPay. If you have one, use your Chinese (+86) phone number over a foreign phone number. Many apps act differently if you use foreign phone numbers.
- Your account should be fully active and you can have a friend top up your balance on AliPay and pay with the balance.
- Add a Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club or Discover card to your account. For small purchases you can pay with your foreign credit card with no fee. A purchase of Y271 triggered a 3% fee.
Go to a China Mobile or China Unicom store and get a cell phone number (estimated time 2.5 hours). Ideally go to the largest branch with most representatives as they will have the best chance of figuring it out. All you need is your passport and cash to pay the initial deposit (I brought Y200). Tourist visa is fine. You want to open this in the area that you will spend the most time in, as they may give you data locked to your province. I am paying Y40 for 12GB data (you need to keep the plan active in some form, even when you are outside of China). More details in https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/35217727-post24.html
If you are coming for a one time visit (maximum 10,000 CNY in 180 day period). This method is not currently recommended as the fees are higher than the above method and ID verification is still required.
- Download AliPay from the App Store
- In the search box at the top, type "TourCard"
- Verify your information and load money onto it. You will be charged a 5% fee for adding money. If the money is not used fully after 180 days, it will be refunded to your card. The current limit is 10,000 CNY. If you want to top up more than that, you can cancel the card after it expires and reopen a new card. The remaining amount of chargeable balance (max 10,000 CNY) will not be reset if you apply for a refund. My understanding is that since this is linked to your passport, if you need more than 10,000 CNY, you have to use another solution. Restrictions: You cannot transfer money to another account. Does not support wealth management, red envelope, etc.
Currently it is not recommended to open a bank account.
Opinion: without Alipay and Wechat Pay, you are screwed in Shanghai
Aug 13, 2019, 3:12 am
#151
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 95
My conclusion is to write off the place because I did not enjoy visiting it (urban sprawls are not my preferred habitats) and that even a business trip is a lot more hassle than most other places. The combination of payment, language and a huge cultural difference makes it just not worth it to me.
Aug 13, 2019, 7:41 am
#152
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SIN
Programs: KF, MPC, BAEC // Bonvoy, WoH, Honors
Posts: 1,462
Aug 13, 2019, 11:55 am
#154
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: CX MPC DM
Posts: 416
I spend a lot of time in Shenzhen, basically every other month. I do have a bank account with WeChat attached and only in the past year have I embraced using WeChat pay everywhere. Before that, I was almost exclusively cash. I still whip out cash on occasion without any issue. The only issue I've had with cash in the past is not having small bills for the taxi drivers. The ATMs give out 100RMB notes and the taxi drivers hate breaking them. If that's all you have they will. Small vendors on the street would prefer WeChat pay, but they still don't want to lose a sale. I've never had them refuse cash. I've paid many restaurants with cash, some of the better restaurants will even take a US Visa card. Sometimes the staff doesn't even know that that their card reader will take it, I usually ask them to try and it works pretty often. I like trying to use a US credit card as it means less cash I need to withdraw from the ATM to replenish the RMB in my bank account or pocket.
Maybe my experience is a little outdated as I've largely switched to using WeChat pay these days.
I've seen some casual restaurants moving to a WeChat only system for ordering and I assume payment. Need to scan a QR code to open some WeChat app to order your food. I don't like those systems as they are usually Chinese only and my WeChat is sometimes flaky with these apps maybe because I have a foreign WeChat account.
I'm kind of an old fart, so I don't really see using WeChat pay or any other pay systems (ApplePay, etc.) as being necessarily faster than cash. It takes a bit of time to get the QR code up, in my estimation roughly the same amount of time for me to whip a few notes out of my pocket. Experienced cashiers can make change very fast. Maybe contactless payment is faster than having to raise a QR code but I haven't tried it yet. Like I said, I'm an old fart who always carries around enough cash for a just in case situation.
Aug 14, 2019, 9:38 am
#155
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,012
Following is our 小笼包 thread the 小龙包 (soup dumplings) thread
Aug 14, 2019, 10:07 am
#156
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
Yes! Places -- usually local chain eating places -- without a menu that point you to a Wechat QR code taped to a corner of the table that opens a mini-app from which you order and pay. I suspect this approach is going to spread quickly. So easy to add or delete menu items, and raise prices. No need for staff to take orders. The printed menu may soon become obsolete in China.
Aug 14, 2019, 10:49 am
#157
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,849
Yes! Places -- usually local chain eating places -- without a menu that point you to a Wechat QR code taped to a corner of the table that opens a mini-app from which you order and pay. I suspect this approach is going to spread quickly. So easy to add or delete menu items, and raise prices. No need for staff to take orders. The printed menu may soon become obsolete in China.
Aug 14, 2019, 7:20 pm
#158
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,314
Of course I'm pretty sure a foreign issued UnionPay card won't work with Apple Pay as the Apple Pay website clearly lists the supported financial institutions and they are all on the mainland.
Aug 14, 2019, 11:54 pm
#159
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
No, you need to read that sentence in the context of the previous sentence: I'm talking about linking your card and your NFC-equipped phone so you can pay by waving your phone instead of your card. Doesn't link for me, and it looks like the problem is my card wasn't opened with a Chinese ID. But maybe others have a different experience.
Aug 15, 2019, 3:57 am
#160
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 95
I've seen those QR codes taped to tables in the lower end restaurants. In itself it offers an opportunity to deal with non-chiinese speakers in a minimal hassle way for local staff. It would mean offering the app to foreigners and adding some (machine) translations. .
I've paid with cash in a restaurant where it was clear I was the first to do so in quite some time. They had to think where they kept the change..
I'm not against using apps, after all that's the way the chinese seem to want to do their business. All I'm saying is that there's currently no option to participate as an occasional visitor. That combined with the fact that many merchants, in the areas I've seen, very rarely conduct cash business any more and soon it will become like Sweden where cash is rare and cashless stores become normal
I've paid with cash in a restaurant where it was clear I was the first to do so in quite some time. They had to think where they kept the change..
I'm not against using apps, after all that's the way the chinese seem to want to do their business. All I'm saying is that there's currently no option to participate as an occasional visitor. That combined with the fact that many merchants, in the areas I've seen, very rarely conduct cash business any more and soon it will become like Sweden where cash is rare and cashless stores become normal
Aug 15, 2019, 4:19 am
#161
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 42,012
I've seen those QR codes taped to tables in the lower end restaurants. In itself it offers an opportunity to deal with non-chiinese speakers in a minimal hassle way for local staff. It would mean offering the app to foreigners and adding some (machine) translations. .
I've paid with cash in a restaurant where it was clear I was the first to do so in quite some time. They had to think where they kept the change..
I'm not against using apps, after all that's the way the chinese seem to want to do their business. All I'm saying is that there's currently no option to participate as an occasional visitor. That combined with the fact that many merchants, in the areas I've seen, very rarely conduct cash business any more and soon it will become like Sweden where cash is rare and cashless stores become normal
I've paid with cash in a restaurant where it was clear I was the first to do so in quite some time. They had to think where they kept the change..
I'm not against using apps, after all that's the way the chinese seem to want to do their business. All I'm saying is that there's currently no option to participate as an occasional visitor. That combined with the fact that many merchants, in the areas I've seen, very rarely conduct cash business any more and soon it will become like Sweden where cash is rare and cashless stores become normal
For now, I dare say that the best course of action is to join our Wechat group, and post photos of the menu board. Someone will reliably advise you on what to order within 2 minutes.
Aug 16, 2019, 3:07 am
#163
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 95
Aug 16, 2019, 6:55 am
#164
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: HKG
Posts: 1,314
No, you need to read that sentence in the context of the previous sentence: I'm talking about linking your card and your NFC-equipped phone so you can pay by waving your phone instead of your card. Doesn't link for me, and it looks like the problem is my card wasn't opened with a Chinese ID. But maybe others have a different experience.
Aug 16, 2019, 7:13 am
#165
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 3,097
On Android I can't seem to get NFC to work either on my bank's app or on the UnionPay app, though QR codes are not a problem. Bank app offers only Chinese ID as ID option when trying to link, not passport. Hard to unravel where the problem lies without spending two hours at the bank.