Chinapedia | 'Pay like a local': Complete guide to use Alipay

Launched in 2004, Alipay is a third-party mobile and online payment platform in China. Similar to that of PayPal and Venmo in the U.S., Alipay is one of the main players in China's mobile payment market. With its penetration into all aspects of society, it has become virtually indispensable in nearly every aspect of daily life, from chatting and working to shopping and from taxi-hailing to making electronic payments.

Step by step, China has been encouraging more foreigners to enter the country since reopening after the pandemic, including the newly promulgated policy of waiving visa requirements for citizens from over 50 countries. Payment methods have been one of the issues that causing difficulties for foreigners in China. With its expanding markets worldwide, users can sign up for an Alipay account using non-Chinese phone numbers.

Alipay and WeChat Pay started to comprehensively upgrade their systems in July 2023 to optimize support for international bank cards to better serve a growing number of international travelers along with bolstering international exchanges.

To optimize the use of foreign bank cards and digital wallets on the Chinese mainland, China's dominant digital payment players, Alipay and WeChat Pay, have joined forces with central-bank-backed NetsUnion Clearing Corp in 2024. They are instructed to increase transaction limits and simplify verification procedures, making local digital payment services more international-user friendly. By simply uploading passport pictures and facial verification, users can enjoy a plain sailing experience in China.

After verification and successfully adding bank cards, users can pay with Alipay by presenting their payment QR codes to merchants or scanning others' QR codes to pay. At some stores, users can pay by simply looking into the camera and scanning their faces without needing QR codes.

(Editor: Ella Qu)