How to use Alipay as a tourist in China (and when to add WeChat Pay)

Alipay is the easiest way for a visitor to pay in mainland China in 2026. Since 2024 the app has let people sign up with a foreign phone number and pay with a card from home, and since February 2025 that includes American Express. You don’t need a Chinese bank account or a Chinese number. What you do need is twenty minutes at home, your passport and a card your bank won’t block.

Here is the set-up, what payments cost, how to use it on the metro, and what to do when it doesn’t work.

Do I really need Alipay in China?

Practically, yes. The US State Department describes China as "predominantly cashless", and fewer places take foreign cards than you’d expect from a country this size. Street food, taxis, metro gates, museum tickets and small shops are all built around scanning a code. Without a payment app you’ll spend the trip looking for an ATM and hoping for change.

Cash still works, and the law now protects it (more on that below). But Alipay is what makes an ordinary day simple.

Alipay or WeChat Pay: which should I set up?

Set up Alipay first. It’s the more tourist-friendly of the two: the sign-up is simpler, it covers the metro and taxis well, and the English version is complete. Add WeChat Pay if you’ll be messaging hosts, guides or restaurants on WeChat, or if someone asks you to pay through a WeChat mini-program.

Both apps say the same thing about foreign cards: they’re for purchases, not for sending money to people.

How do I set up Alipay as a tourist?

Do this at home, on Wi-Fi, a week or so before you fly. Verification codes go to your phone number by SMS, and your bank may want to approve the first payment, so you want your home SIM working and time to sort out problems.

1. Download Alipay from the App Store or Google Play. Check the developer is Alipay before you install, as there are look-alike apps.
2. Sign up with your own number. Pick your country code and enter your usual mobile number. A code arrives by SMS.
3. Verify your identity with your passport. The app asks for your name exactly as printed, your passport number and a photo of the photo page. It’s often quick, but it can take a few days, which is another reason to start early.
4. Link a card. Go to the bank card section and add a credit or debit card issued outside mainland China. Alipay+ says the card must be from a major international network.
5. Tell your bank. Some banks block the first payment to a Chinese merchant as suspected fraud. A travel notice or a quick message in your banking app saves an awkward moment at a till.
6. Try it once. Many visitors make a tiny test payment as soon as they land, at a convenience store, while there’s no queue behind them.

That’s it. There’s no prepaid top-up needed for most visitors. You may read about "Tour Pass" or "Tour Card" prepaid cards in older guides; with a linked foreign card you don’t need one.

How do I pay with Alipay in a shop or taxi?

There are two ways, and the cashier decides which.

• They show a code, you scan it. Small stalls and taxis usually display a printed QR code. Tap "Scan", point the camera at it, type the amount and confirm. Show the cashier the green confirmation screen.
• You show a code, they scan it. Supermarkets and chains scan your phone. Open "Pay" to show your payment code and hold it up to their scanner.

The app shows the amount in yuan before you confirm, along with any fee. Read it before you tap.

How much does Alipay cost for foreigners?

For you, the fee depends on the size of each payment:

• Up to ¥200: no Alipay fee. That covers most meals, taxis and tickets.
• Above ¥200: 3% of the whole payment. WeChat Pay publishes this rule on its own help centre ("fees are waived for single transactions under 200 RMB"). Alipay applies the same threshold; the app shows the fee before you confirm. We couldn’t open an Alipay page that states it, so treat the in-app figure as the one that counts.
• Your bank’s own foreign transaction fee comes on top, unless your card has none.

A worked example: a ¥350 dinner costs ¥10.50 in Alipay fees (3% of ¥350). If your card charges a 2.75% foreign transaction fee, add roughly another ¥9.60. On a card with no foreign fee, you pay ¥360.50 in total.

Splitting one bill into two payments under ¥200 is something you’ll see recommended in videos. It works only if the cashier is happy to do it, and it’s not worth the fuss for a few yuan.

Limits. In March 2024 the People’s Bank of China raised the limits for foreign cards in these apps to US$5,000 per transaction and US$50,000 a year. That’s far more than a holiday needs. If you’re paying for something big, like a long-distance train for a family, check the amount in the app before you queue.

How do I use Alipay on the metro and in taxis?

Metro and buses. Many cities let you go through the gates with a transport QR code inside Alipay. Open Alipay, go to the transport section, choose the city, accept the terms and generate the code. Hold it face down on the gate’s scanner. The Hunan provincial government’s English guide describes exactly this flow, and it’s similar elsewhere. Do it on Wi-Fi at your hotel the night before, not at a busy gate.

Taxis and ride-hailing. You can book DiDi, China’s main ride-hailing service, from inside Alipay as well as through the DiDi app, and pay with your linked card. Street taxis usually show a QR code on the dashboard or the back of the seat.

Trains. Official tickets are sold through the Railway 12306 app, which takes foreign cards and lists its own payment options. Our China guide covers 12306 step by step.

Does Alipay work without mobile data?

Plan as if it doesn’t. Paying, generating a metro code and booking a ride all expect a connection. Some travellers report that the payment code opens briefly offline, but we found no official statement saying it works, and a frozen screen at a metro gate is no fun.

Sort out your data before you fly. Our guide on how to prepare your phone for international travel explains eSIMs, roaming and keeping your home number for verification codes, which matters here because Alipay sends codes to it.

What should I do if an Alipay payment fails?

Most failures fall into a few groups. Work through them in this order:

Alipay’s customer service line for visitors is +86 571 2688 6000 (08:00 to midnight, China time). WeChat Pay’s is +86 571 95017.

Can a shop in China refuse cash?

No, not for an ordinary in-person sale. New rules from the People’s Bank of China and other regulators came into force on 1 February 2026. Under them:

• Shops and service providers can’t refuse cash for in-person payments.
• Self-service machines have to offer a cash option when the mobile network or the machine fails.
• Merchants are expected to keep change.
• Visitors can report a refusal to the local People’s Bank of China branch.

So carry some yuan, mostly in small notes, as a backup. Withdraw it at a bank ATM at the airport when you land, which the government’s China Bound visitor service also recommends. A few hundred yuan covers a day of small purchases if your phone dies.

Your Alipay checklist before you fly

• Alipay installed and signed up with your own number
• Passport verification complete
• At least one card linked, plus a backup card from a different network
• Bank told about your trip, or the first payment approved in your banking app
• Data sorted: an eSIM or roaming plan, with your home number still able to receive SMS
• The metro code set up for your first city (or at least know where to find it)
• WeChat installed if you’ll message hosts or guides
• Some yuan in small notes, or a plan to withdraw it at the airport

Amicly’s China kit has this checklist built in, alongside Amap, DiDi, Railway 12306 and offline translation, so you can tick it off at home and open it on the trip without signal.