Alipay

Alipay is essential when travalling to China. Although the main feature is the make payments, the app provide much more than just payment.

Download

App Store, Play Store

How to Start

1. Download & Install Alipay

2. Sign Up for Alipay

   1. Open Alipay and click “Sign Up” on the login page.
   2. Select your country code and enter your mobile number.
   3. Input the verification code sent to your phone.

3. Add a Credit or Debit Card

   1. On the home page, click “Add Credit or Debit Card”.
   2. Enter your card details. (Alipay supports Visa, Mastercard, JCB, etc.)

4. Scan to Pay

   1. After adding a card, you can start making payments like a local.

   2. To pay(more detail):

      • Click “Scan” to scan a merchant’s QR code.
      • Or click “Pay” to display your payment code for the merchant to scan.

   3. Notes:

      • Payments over 200 RMB incur a 3% transaction fee.
      • Payments under 200 RMB are fee-free.
      • Only payments to merchant accounts are allowed (no person-to-person transfers).
      • If a payment fails, contact your bank to resolve the issue.

5. Identity Verification

   1. Alipay allows payments up to $500 without identity verification.
   2. After reaching the $500 limit, you will need to verify your identity:
      • Go to Settings > Account and Security > Verify Now.
      • Enter your details and upload a photo of your passport information page.
   3. To avoid interruptions, consider verifying your identity before your trip.

Transport

The Trasnport button on the main screen brings you abilities for public transport and car-hailing.

For bus, show the bus QR code to the scanning device when ride on the bus, that’s all. Bus services have great coverage in most cities and only cost 1 or 2 RMBs, best option for wandering the city when you have a lot of time.

For metro, here is the guide, they are also convenient and cheap.

For car-hailing, it’s similar to Uber Taxis, you should not have much trouble to use it. Although, here is the guide for taxis.