Jamester

Majuki

Jamester,

QuickPass is UnionPay's contactless brand, and it's a feature of the card. If you look on the back of your UnionPay card it will say QuickPass. There is also a mobile version of it, but to my knowledge ICBC USA doesn't support it. Theoretically when you see the QuickPass logo you should be able to tap and go. I'd try this for the Shenzhen Metro with the US based UnionPay card, but my Mandarin isn't good enough if something goes wrong. They'd probably be scratching their heads at how I got a UnionPay card.

Jamester

TerryK

I wonder if ICBC USA will ever re-open online application?

Majuki

I can't speak for all places, but I've seen Quickpass branding all around. Others have reported issues using the US based UnionPay card, but I haven't had any hiccups the few times I've used it. I might try on the Metro later today.

tmiw

It'd be nice, but admittedly this is a specialty product where people who truly need it would be willing to visit in person to apply. (Plus, there are geographic restrictions from what I remember, much like with the old JCB cards.)

Jamester

tmiw

By "pretending to be a Discover card", do you mean using it at merchants in the US? I've been half tempted to apply for it on multiple occasions just to see how well merchants here accept UnionPay but considering I don't have any upcoming travel to China any time soon (plus the fact that WeChat/Alipay are what most people there use) makes it a hard sell.

LASNRT

I used the QuickPass on the Shenzhen Metro on Tuesday and it worked just fine - only certain fare gates work - they're red and have a "UnionPay QuickPass" label in English and Chinese, like the one in the right of the picture. Just tap your card on the sensor on the *top* of the fare gate where it says "slide" when you enter & exit the station. (There's a QR code reader above the green arrow perpendicular to the ground - that's not the one!)

After you leave the station the fare will be calculated and your card will be billed. Mine posted like this:
01-16-2019 SZMOH GUANGDONG CHN purchase CNY 2.00 Card#xxxx. USD 0.30

By the way, the reason you couldn't use your Apple Pay at McDonald's is because Apple Pay in China is only for UnionPay cards...and the American ICBC card can't be added to Apple Pay. I've emailed them asking to have that feature enabled... their reply didn't seem promising.

Majuki

Most merchants don't support PBOC protocol which then requires a fallback swipe transaction to process over the Discover network. Non-PBOC transactions to my knowledge will not work with a chipped transaction. This almost caused my card to be rejected at the Arby's in Sunnyvale. They have a separate card terminal than they use where they key in the amount manually. It is not connected to their register.

I didn't know that about Apple Pay being UnionPay only in China.

Thanks for the data point on the Shenzhen Metro, LASNRT! I had just been paying cash and using the tokens, which is I assume where you scan the QuickPass card in the red lanes. I did see people scanning their QR codes on the readers, and I think I did see at least one person using a UnionPay card. Had I known, I probably wouldn't have withdrawn CNY for such a short trip and gone cashless with UnionPay. I just didn't want to have any issues since my Mandarin is somewhat limited if there were any hiccups. I'll definitely try it next trip.

Jamester

That's correct tmiw, my experience at our Safeway (that would be Vons for you in SD) is it goes thru via Discover transaction, and nevermind the fact UnionPay card numbers start with a '6', just like Discover. The only gotcha is that I CANNOT use the chip on the card but rather it asks me to slide the magnetic strip instead, and then press Enter for credit. (It does ask if you want a cash back but I cringe at the thought of high fees).

You're right, if you don't have upcoming trips to China (or have no interests to go there), this card makes no sense. Hope that helps!

tmiw

I believe we discussed this before, hence my wondering about Jamester's use of the card in the US. Especially since I also remember that their fraud prevention people call after you do enough fallback transactions, too, which would make using the card pretty inconvenient if it gets locked often.

Yeah, UnionPay cards (at least when swiped) can be run as debit in the US, which would make this card a viable option for Costco and Arco. I didn't see anything specific at first glance on ICBC's site as to whether debit purchases with cash back would count as a cash advance, however (or would even be approved in the first place).

Majuki

As Jamester said, unless you have trips to Mainland China, this card is of limited utility. I haven't had the opportunity to try the card in Macau yet - I was there unexpectedly on Friday but didn't make any purchases - but I will have the opportunity next month. The card works fine in HK, but percysmith and I couldn't get QuickPass to work in early 2017 at the couple of merchants we tried. My previous trip to Macau predated having this card.

The card worked (with a fallback transaction) as debit plus PIN at Costco. I imagine it would work the same at Arco. However, as you said, I received an inbound call asking if I had the card after about 5 or 6 test purchases.

The cash back is a convenience feature of using a Discover card, which allows cash back without fees at supermarkets. One doesn't earn rewards on this when using a Discover card, however. Without saying it directly, all permutations of transaction options at Safeway using UnionPay have posted as purchases and earned 1% cashback. The same goes for the debit purchases at Costco. This is unlikely to scale for topics reserved for other forums

benny08

This card have limited use in China due the lack of support for WeChat Pay/Alipay. Many store only accepts Wechat/Alipay. Like some of you said, it works great with Quickpass terminal, but only major places have those. I hardly see anybody using a "physical card" in China nowadays.

LASNRT

I am by no means a China expert, so take what I have with a grain of salt - but I've found the card to be quite useful. In my 4 trips in the last 16 months this card has been a life saver to be honest, and made my travels much smoother.

Yes, WeChat/Alipay are the most common forms of payment, but in the places that don't accept cards, I've never been refused cash payment, and most of them (street food seller, produce shop, etc.) I wouldn't necessarily expect them to take credit cards anyway. I do wish I was able to bind it to my Alipay and WeChat pay accounts - I've even emailed ICBC USA but it appears impossible.

I've heard stories of people who say places "only" took WeChat/Alipay, and wouldn't take cash, but I've never encountered this myself. Again, I'm no China expert, and stick to larger cities.

With this card, I've been able to do quite a few things, including (a) use it as a ticket for both Shenzhen and Guangzhou metros by just tapping the card at the fare gate, (b) purchase rail tickets on 12306.com, (c) use the self check out at Aeon and Walmart, and very importantly to me (d) avoid DCC that seems very common in many Chinese stores & hotels. My travel companion doesn't have a UnionPay card, and I've had to bail him out a couple of times when the cashier shakes her head at his Visa card...

If I may ask, how did this card let you down?