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How to pay with Alipay in China | Easy step-by-step guide
Understanding what Alipay is and How to pay with Alipay in China It can be a headache when you start organizing your trip, but I promise you that Once you understand it, it's simple.I would even say very practical. That's why we decided to make this guide on how to use Alipay to pay in China.
We take this opportunity to tell you about the many other functions that Alipay has in addition to paying, because It is an App that serves for everything, from taking public transport, renting bikes or even using washing machines, so understanding how it works is one of the keys to travelling to China.
What is Alipay in China and how to register
Understanding (or trying to) what Alipay is and how to use it is one of the main things What to know before traveling to China. Alipay is an App available for both iOS and Android that you will have to givecarGet ready before your trip to ChinaRemember to do it beforehand so you can verify.car You must provide your identity and credit card information before arriving. We've heard that some travelers have trouble doing this once in China because they don't receive the confirmation SMS.
⚠️ It is very important that you add a card without fees for currency exchange because you will pay everything in yuan. These are the best cards for traveling abroad that currently exist.
The Alipay App It is one of the most widespread ways to pay in China, The other is through WeChat, a WhatsApp-like messaging app that has dozens of other functions. We opted for Alipay because we read that WeChat without a Chinese number and with a foreign card sometimes caused problems (although we believe that this is pre-covid information and it is easier now). In any case, Alipay It worked perfectly for us at all times, which is why it is the method we recommend for paying in China.
The first thing that appears when you enter is the option to add a card, you just have to give it to add and fill in the identity information, card and phone number. Personally we use the credit card TradeRepublic for its good conditions and for not charging a commission when paying in yuan. In the Alipay app sometimes things appear in English and other times in Chinese, when they are in Chinese you will see a translator button on the left, just by clicking it you will be translated.
How pay with Alipay in China and many other functions
In order to use Alipay you have to have internet on your mobile, So we recommend you either buy a local SIM upon arrival or order an eSIM from Holafly before you travel. Perhaps our article explaining the best way to have internet with VPN in China. For most functions you must also have Bluetooth connected or the payment will give you an error.
Achieve QR on Alipay to pay in China
The main function of Alipay is to pay and it can be done in two ways.
The first is scanning the seller's QR, to do this you just have to click on Scan and scan the QR of your store (they usually have them posted on the wall or counters). In this option you add the amount you are going to pay, and if you are not sure about it, they usually write it themselves on your mobile phone.
And the second option is Pay using your own QR, is in the option Pay/Receive. It usually occurs in places with fixed prices such as the entrance to a temple or in restaurants and large stores that write the price at the cash register and you just have to scan it to be charged.
In both options It will ask you to enter your pin when making the payment, the pin is chosen when adding the credit card.
How to pay for the subway with Alipay
Both in the shanghai metroAs for Beijing public transport and many other big cities you can pay with Alipay in a super simple way.
⚠️ They are sole proprietorships associated with your account, two people cannot swipe the same QR.
To activate it you have to enter the section Transport Select the city from the dropdown menu at the top (it usually picks it by location). You'll need to activate the bus and metro separately because they are two different cards. To do this, go to View > Activate > fill in your personal details: Name, ID Type (select Passport), and ID Number. > Agree and obtain card.
And ready!
The transport card that you have activated will appear when entering Transport in the form of a QR, which you only have to scan at the doors of the subway or bus to access, and again to exit.
Rent bikes with Alipay
One of the things that surprised us about China is that its big cities are much less chaotic than we expected, full of carbike riles that make traveling by bicycle comfortable and economical.
As it could not be otherwise, Alipay has its own rental bicycles distributed throughout the city, they are blue and have the Alipay logo in white.
To rent them by the minute you have to enter more > Hello Ride. The first time a driving course appears and little else, then you directly have the scan button at the top right with which you scan the QR of the bicycle you want to take.
Once selected, a second blue button appears in Chinese (you have the option to translate) with which You confirm that you want to unlock it.
To return them you have to go back to access Hello Ride and press the blue button that appears, the bike will say a sentence in Chinese and will be locked. Although there are some older ones that have a lock on the rear wheel, to return these you just have to close the lock manually.
How to order a Didi from Alipay (taxis in China)
Didi is the most popular Uber-like app in China. To use it, you can...carDownload the Didi app or use it directly through Alipay, where all your payment information is already verified and it's more convenient. You can find it as Didi Travel and if you have used Uber or another similar application, it will not be difficult for you to understand, The concept is the same.
When the taxi picks you up, it may ask you for the last numbers of your phone because it asks for it to confirm that it is picking up the correct person.
If you were wondering at the beginning of the article what Alipay is, you see that Alipay is... Everything you need to travel to China and not die trying!
Other things you can do pay with Alipay
The four functions that I have told you about how to use Alipay are the most necessary for traveling to China, but I did not want to end the article without mentioning some others that you may use, such as renting Power BanksThere are points of recarga throughout the city and you can pay for several of them through Alipay.
But not only that, during our trip we have used Alipay for many things, such as put washing machines. If you don't know how something works and you see a QR, try scanning it with scan and see what happens.
Another feature that you almost certainly use is paying at the vending machines what's on the street or on public transportation.
And finally, it is not related to how to pay with Alipay, but within the App you have access to a quite intuitive translator for conversation mode or to see the currency exchange in real time. As I said, Alipay is a must!
If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and we will try to help you as much as possible. To find out more about our trip through China you can see the featured stories of Instagram, and to organize your trip here you have all our China guides with updated information and our guide Hong Kong in 1 day or 2.
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