Hi All,

What epayment app do you recommend for China? Seems to be Alipay, Tencen (WeChat) or UnionPay, however I've read elsewhere that you need a China-based bank card to "connect" to your account before payments can be made. Is this true?

If anyone has successfully got an app and made payments, please share your experience here. Including ease of use, any security concerns, and language barrier (within the app itself, ie are all the screens and messages in English?)

I'll be using a Samsung phone, so Android app.

Thanks very much.

ok, thanks for the info. Not so easy for foreigners in China for using phones to pay, it looks like!

Seems you may need a China-registered (China bank issued) credit card for top-up, from what I have read elsewhere so far...?

Also I heard Android pay (Google Wallet) and Samsung pay etc also doesn't work in China.

Maybe the next traveller to China can verify and post back here!

Wah it seems so complicated to transact a purchase within China. The entire tech platform is skewed against non-Chinese residents and makes it really hard for casual foreigners to visit and buy stuff on streets and shops. This is really a big negative, I hope they realise.

Note that I was in Shanghai on my way back from Europe recently. Got the Hello1010 SIM, it connected to China Mobile, but WhatsApp didn't work...I wasn't using a VPN as I was only 3hr transit, couldn't be bothered.

If you are a member of Priority Pass, there are several lounges you can access in Pudong. See https://www.prioritypass.com/en/lounges/chi...g-international

Some of them also accept pay-per-entry I believe.

I'm a member, but last trip I used the China Eastern lounge as I was in Business Class.

Just came back after a 2-week trip to China. According to my guide, China will go 100% e-Wallet in next 2 years. Not sure how the foreigners will cope then.

QR codes are everywhere, even very tiny stalls selling sticky rice for 5 Yuan! I see the locals just scan the code, enter the amount on their app and payment is done on the app. Instant confirmation for both vendor and buyer, no paper receipts. Vendors have a payment app on their phone, or have a small screen near them to show the transaction.

Metro tickets are also purchased this way, but they still have the other machines in most stations that take cash or card. Almost no queue on those!

I hope Alipay will expand their services to allow non-Chinese credit cards or some other form of credit like PayPal etc. WePay seems popular as well, many vendors have QR codes for both apps.

Wi-Fi available in all hotels but as expected, all Google apps, Facebook/Messenger, Instagram are blocked. WhatsApp works but for text only, any photos included in your message doesn't get thru. I didn't use VPN nor my global SIM on my phone.

Great news. Found an article on how to set it up and make it work...

https://theshutterwhale.com/blog/2019/11/5/...it-up-right-now

When I was in China a couple of weeks ago, I heard that you need an internet connection (data) for this to work, as any payment you authorise after scanning the QR code needs to go back to the Alipay server for release of your funds to the vendor.

I guess need to carry hotspot or have a roaming SIM for this to work then. Small price to pay for ease of financial transactions in the future hopefully without any hassles.