How should travellers handle payments in China?
Use mobile payment for most everyday spending, but carry another bank card and some RMB cash. Set up Alipay or Weixin Pay before departure, link more than one eligible card if possible and keep a physical card separate from the phone.
Full answer
Payments in China are highly digital.
For a visitor, the safest approach is to use mobile payment most of the time without making it the only way to pay.
Carry:
- one working mobile-payment app;
- another linked card or second payment app;
- a physical bank card kept separately;
- a modest amount of RMB cash.
Set up the app before departure
Register, complete the identity checks and link the card while you still have reliable access to your bank and phone number.
Make sure the app opens and the payment code appears. Check any current limits or fees, especially before a large hotel or shopping payment.
A card can link successfully and still be declined later by the issuing bank. Tell the bank about the trip if needed and know how to approve or unlock a payment.
Learn how QR payments work
At some shops, you scan the merchant’s code and enter the amount. At others, the cashier scans the code displayed on your phone.
Check the merchant name and amount before confirming. For a taxi or small restaurant, the payment may happen quickly, so it helps to know where the code is in the app.
Keep a second way to pay
Use cards from different banks when possible. Keep the physical backup somewhere other than the phone case.
Carry some cash for a failed app, a rejected card or a small business. Cash remains valid, even though mobile payment is more common.
Do not carry enough cash for the whole trip. A modest amount in practical notes is usually sufficient.
Physical cards
International cards are more likely to work at airports, larger hotels, department stores and formal ticket offices.
They are less dependable at small restaurants, markets, taxis and rural businesses. Carry one, but do not assume it will be accepted everywhere.
Keep the phone charged
A flat battery can remove your map, translation and main way to pay at the same time.
Carry a power bank. Travelling companions should have their own access to money rather than depending entirely on one phone.
Before leaving the airport
Confirm that mobile data works, the payment app opens, at least one card is active and you have cash for the first transfer. Keep the hotel address in Chinese.
The first journey should not depend on an app you have never successfully opened.