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Let’s talk about how to pay for things in China as a tourist.
Because that’s something that can easily disrupt your trip and become the biggest headache if not done right. But don’t worry, it’s actually quite easy and we’ll go through the exact steps to set up Alipay in this video. Be sure you watch to the end to get a great tip and the exact phrase in Chinese that you can use during your trip to avoid paying extra fees.
Intro to Mobile Payment Apps
So the first thing to know is that China handles payments a little differently than many other countries. China is largely cashless, and what that means is that while cash is still generally accepted, it’s not that common and in some cases, the vendor may not have change for you. And it’s not just cash but even physical credit cards are not often accepted because the card readers, which are those machines that you swipe or tap your credit card on, are just not that common. Instead, the preferred method of payment for basically everything, from street food stalls to restaurants, and even major department stores is by using a mobile payment app, with the two major players being Alipay and WeChat Pay. How this will work is that you’ll have to link your card on one of these apps, and then use the app to pay in china. The app basically acts as a middleman to facilitate your transactions.
While this might sound a little complicated, I promise that once you get past the few minutes that it takes to set it up, it’s actually quite convenient. And in this video, we’ll go through the steps to set up one of these two, namely Alipay, for payment in China.
How to Set Up Alipay: Step-by-step
So you’ll start by downloading the Alipay app from the App Store or Google Play. After agreeing to the privacy agreement, you can sign up using either your phone number or one of these other sign up methods. Regardless of which method you choose, just make sure you’re able to receive a verification code.
After entering in the verification code, you’ll then choose the Country or Region on your ID, and then you’ll be led to the main home page of Alipay.
It should be in English by default and if you need to change the language, you can tap Account on the bottom, tap the gear icon on the top, tap this red gear icon where it says General and then the second option will be Language.
Now onto the main part, adding your credit or debit card. If you go back to the Home page, which is this first Home tab with a circle here on the bottom, you’ll see this prompt for you to add your card information. If it doesn’t appear here for some reason, you can also go to the Account tab, tap on “Bank Cards”, tap on “Add more bank…” and then add your credit or debit card that way. It’ll ask you to set a payment password, basically a PIN, and then you can add your card on the next step, just make sure the card is on one of these supported payment networks shown here, so that’s Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and so forth. And if you have a card that has no foreign transaction fees, I recommend you to use that one, so that you can avoid paying extra fees there. I’ll drop a couple of credit cards with no foreign transaction fees in the description box if you’re looking for one. Now back to the sign up, fill in the card details, hit submit, and that’s it, that’s everything you need to be able to pay in China.
How to Pay in Stores with Alipay
Now at stores you’ll just go to the Home tab, and then tap “Pay/Receive”, and then the employee will scan where it says “Pay Vendor”. You can also initiate payment from your end, but it’s generally easier to have them just scan your code.
If you want to receive payments, you’ll need to verify your ID in the app, but for the typical tourist who is just purchasing and not receiving payment, there’s no need for this, and I never set mine up.
Now, while the steps I mentioned should work for the vast majority, I still suggest you test Alipay as soon as you land in China. Try it at the airport with a small purchase, maybe a a bottle of water at the convenience store. That way, if there’s any issue, you can find out early and avoid surprises later on. And in case of issues, it’s always good to have a small amount of physical cash to convert—just as a backup.
Now before we talk about fees and an awesome tip to avoid fees, if you found this video helpful so far, let me know by dropping a like and consider subscribing to learn more great travel tips for China and beyond.
How to Avoid Fees on Alipay
Now back to fees, using Alipay for payment is completely free for transactions up to 200 RMB, which is about 27 U.S. dollars using today’s conversion rate. And then anything above 200 RMB will incur a 3% fee, which is a standard fee amongst these payment apps. While this isn’t terrible, no one likes to pay extra fees, and if you want a way to get around it, here’s how you can do so.
If you’re making a purchase that’s not substantially over 200—let’s say you’re buying something that’s 358 RMB—you can ask the vendor to split it into two transactions. One for 200, and one for 158. That way, you stay under the fee limit for each transaction and avoid the extra charges.
And if you don’t speak Chinese, you can just show them this message on your phone:
“可不可以分成多笔付，每笔不超过200？我是从国外来的，超过200有手续费。”
This means, “Can you split this into multiple transactions, each under 200? I’m visiting from abroad and there’s a fee for payments over 200.”
Every vendor I asked was happy to do this, but I would only recommend this for smaller purchases—more than 2 or 3 split payments may be inconvenient. But honestly, 200 RMB goes pretty far for daily spending in China, so that generally shouldn’t be an issue.
Final Words on Alipay
So that’s it—Alipay is honestly super convenient if you’re visiting China. It’s fast, reliable, and works basically everywhere. WeChat Pay is another option that I’ll cover in another video. If you found this helpful and want more China travel tips, make sure to subscribe to get notified for the next video. I’ll see you there!