Updated FAQ on using international credit cards in China

Usage notes for Alipay, WeChat Pay and Taobao

View from China with an Austrian School of Economics Perspective

Both Alipay and WeChat now support Western credit cards. Updates to the previous version of this FAQ are in italics. If you want to know why it took ten years to make this happen, check out our previous article.

Which cards are in theory eligible?

Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Diner’s Club and JCB. Thus far the Russian Mir card is missing from the list, though this might change at some point. Chinese domestic credit cards don’t work either.

Do I need a Chinese number to sign-up?

Any number which can receive text messages should be able to sign up for WeChat or Alipay. However, note that some Chinese online vendors may require a local number. Buying train tickets online is one example of such a service. Making use of Wifi services at restaurants, hospitals and the like may also require SMS verification using a domestic number.

Who can use this new setup?

Apparently anyone. Users who are not yet “verified” need to upload a copy of their passport and fill out an information page, but that seems to be it. Domestic Chinese users can also add eligible foreign credit cards to their accounts and use them.

What are the limits?

Using WeChat Pay, the maximum permissible charge is 6,000 yuan in a single transaction. Using Alipay the maximum permissible charge is 3,000 yuan. The current yearly limit per account is 60,000 yuan per calendar year per platform, so each person effectively can charge up to 120,000 yuan per year using both platforms combined.

How/when do you select which card to charge?

Neither WeChat Pay nor Alipay seems to have a permanent default payment source setting. Instead, both suggest whatever you used the last time. Be careful: If a charge fails for some reason, for example because your bank rejected it as suspicious, the default payment method will probably change, usually to “balance” if you have one. The payment source can be changed in the final step, AFTER pressing “Pay”. Besides selecting a card, if you have a balance in your wallet, you can of course also choose to use that as the payment source.

How do I actually go about paying someone?

The most common method for small vendors, such as those you encounter at the marketplace, is to provide a QR code for customers to scan. After scanning the code, you enter how much you want to pay, select the payment source and enter your pass code.

When using this method, Alipay has a particularity which WeChat doesn't have: Alipay requires you to re-enter your credit card’s three-digit CVV code to confirm the payment.

The second method is to allow the vendor to scan you. This is more common in stores. Using WeChat, select Me -> Services -> Money (in the English version) to display your payment QR code. Using Alipay, choose “Pay/Collect” on the main screen. Remember to make sure you have selected the card you want before offering your QR code to the vendor to scan.

In reality “Money” in the WeChat app means “payment code”. The meaning of “Money” here is not exactly obvious to say the least. The vendor or the vendor’s scanner scans this code and WeChat prompts you to enter your six-digit pass code to confirm the amount.

Using the Alipay app, this second method is labeled as “Pay/Collect”.

After clicking on "Money" to generate your payment QR code, there is a drop down menu allowing you select the funding source, i.e. which credit card to charge. For small amounts both WeChat Pay and Alipay may process the payment without requiring you to enter your six-digit payment password (pass code).

What can you pay for using Western credit cards?

Almost everything with the possible exception of a few online vendors such as Meituan and Pinduoduo. Jingdong (JD.com) offers a WeChat Pay option in the final step as an alternative to paying by bank card.

To use foreign credit cards on Taobao, see the section below.

You can’t use foreign credit cards to do balance top-ups, person to person transfers or send gifts (红包).

→ After setting up a new card, try a small amount first.

Western banks will often reject the first attempt to charge your card, so watch out for a notification from your bank if that should happen. You can try again after confirming the charge with your bank; however, note that if you have a balance, the amount you attempted to charge may be deducted from your balance instead, or possibly charged to another card. In this light, it’s best to start with a small amount.

What are the fees?

If the total charge is equal to or less than 200 yuan, neither Alipay nor WeChat charges a transaction fee. For amounts over 200 yuan, their fee is 3%. This fee is added to the total and is separate from any fee your bank may charge for foreign transactions.

It’s not clear if there is any limitation yet on the number of charges with a single vendor; however, given the additional fees charged for amounts over 200 yuan, at some point in the future it’s a fair guess that a limitation is likely. In such a case, using a different credit card for the second charge might be a workaround. Currently this works.

How about other financial products?

As a foreigner, you can also forget about products such as “Wealth” or “Insurance”, even if you are verified. After you go through all the rigmarole questions and enter an amount to invest you will see a popup that only Chinese with a verified personal identity card qualify. No doubt this is once again due to government regulations discriminating against foreigners.

What about Taobao / T-Mall?

Taobao does not accept WeChat Pay. It does accept Alipay, but only when using your balance on Alipay or charging domestic bank cards. Alipay cannot be used on Taobao to pay via foreign cards to avoid the 3% fee. This option is grayed out.

However, if you identify yourself as a “Global” user (我的淘宝 -> 设置), Taobao does support foreign Visa and Mastercard cards with a 3% surcharge. There is no exception for small amounts. The charges appear as domestic US charges in USD dollars.

If you see an amount calculated in HK dollars, Taobao will attempt to charge your card via Alipay Hong Kong. This may happen if you are using a Hong Kong IP address. If your credit card is not from Hong Kong, this will probably not work. Instead, try again using a domestic Internet connection and Taobao Lite (a different app) instead of the full Taobao version.

If the charge fails, try again using an Android phone.

If the charge is initially rejected by your bank as suspicious, Taobao irritatingly refuses to remember the card details, so you will have to reenter everything if you wish to try again. Once a card has been charged successfully, Taobao offers it as a payment option for future transactions.

What issues have cropped up thus far?

1) The version of WeChat available on GooglePlay does not seem to work yet. It keeps prompting users to update to a new version, but no such version is available. As a workaround, WeChat Pay’s customer service hotline (95017) suggests downloading the APK file directly from its site via this link. The minimum required version is 8.0.40.

2) Not all vendors work yet, but most do. The reasons are not entirely clear, but basically it seems that they have not yet worked out all the kinks.

3) If your registered name does not exactly match the name listed in your passport, you will not be able to link your credit cards. If you want to update your registered name to match your documents, you can do this, but you will have to wait 15 days after making the charge before you can try again. Opening up a new account may be a workaround for this.

4) New users registering abroad may need to get help from an existing WeChat user to complete the registration process.

How can I reach customer service?

WeChat Pay has a customer service hotline with an English option: 95017. Their English isn’t great, but they do seem motivated to actually resolve problems should they arise.

Alipay offers two support channels – by telephone and online. To reach the actual online customer service using the English version you have to click through a mixture of English and Chinese prompts.

• Telephone: 0571-26886000

• Online: Me - > Bank Cards -> FAQ -> 我的客服 -> Customer Service

Thus far, apparently Taobao has no customer support hotline.