How to pay in China: cash, card or phone
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Short answer
Pay by phone: set up Alipay or WeChat Pay and add your card.1
Do it before you go.
Bring your card too, for hotels, big stores and the metro in several big cities.
Carry some cash as a backup.
Pay by phone
You don’t need a Chinese bank account or a Chinese phone number: register either app with your own number from home.1, 2, 3 Make sure that number can still receive text messages in China, because your bank or the app may send a code when you pay. Then add your card and verify your identity with your passport.3, 4 Step by step: Alipay for foreigners and WeChat Pay for foreigners.
Setting up both apps gives you a backup if one turns your card down.
At the checkout, scan the shop’s QR code and enter the amount if asked, or open your payment code and let the cashier scan it.2 With a card from home, the apps work only at shops in mainland China — not in Hong Kong or Macao.3, 4
Some e-wallets from other countries also work at shops in China — check whether yours does before you go.5, 6
Bring your card
You can use your card where the checkout shows its logo, and a UnionPay card at any shop’s card machine. Hotels with three stars or more and major tourist sites accept cards from home5, but at small shops and street stalls, expect to pay by phone or in cash. In several big cities you can tap a contactless card from home at the metro gate: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou take UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB; Visa says its cards work in Chengdu, and Mastercard says its cards work in Shenzhen.7, 8, 9, 10, 11 Look for the card logos on the gate.
Tell your bank you are going to China, and bring a second card from another bank: your bank might block payments from China, and a call to unblock it is all it takes. In WeChat Pay, your card brand (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) and your bank set the exchange rate.3 With Alipay, your bank’s statement shows what you paid in your own currency.4 A card with no foreign transaction fee saves you money — your bank’s fee, if any, is added on top of everything else.
More on cards: Can you use your credit card in China?
Carry some cash
Carry some cash as a backup, but expect to pay by phone almost everywhere. Shops must take cash by law12, yet small vendors often have little change, so keep some 10- and 20-yuan notes. A few hundred yuan lasts most travelers a week.
ATMs that show your card’s logo can give you yuan, and banks that show an exchange sign can change foreign cash.5 You will find both at the airport when you arrive and in city centers.13 Bring your passport to change money at a bank.14, 15
You can change leftover yuan back before you leave China.13, 14 Keep the receipt from when you changed money: without it, you can change back only up to US$500 a day (or US$1,000 once you are past customs).
When a payment fails
The app says the shop does not support your payment
At some small shops and stalls, your card won’t work — they use the owner’s personal payment code, which does not take cards from home. Pay cash there.
The app turns your card down
Try your other card, or the other app. If every payment fails, call your bank: it may be blocking payments from China.
You need to pay a person
Your card in the apps cannot send money to a person3, 4, so pay a private guide or driver, or a friend, in cash.
Key numbers
Alipay and WeChat Pay charge no fee on a payment of 200 yuan or less with a card from home, and 3% of the total on a larger payment.1, 16 The payment page shows the fee before you confirm. Checked .16 New to WeChat Pay? No card fee for 90 days from your first payment, up to 1,000 yuan a day.6
One ATM withdrawal gives you about 3,000 yuan at most (the exact cap depends on the bank’s ATM), and your own bank’s limits also apply.17, 18, 19 Check what your bank charges for each withdrawal.
Spending limits on a card from home in the apps:
Official pages disagree
- Up to US$5,000 per payment and US$50,000 a yearChinese government website (gov.cn) · April 11, 2024; Shanghai government · September 21, 20261, 5
- In WeChat Pay, 6,500 yuan per payment, 50,000 yuan a month and 65,000 yuan a yearWeChat Help Center · Page not dated3
We show both and do not choose one.
The app shows the limits on your own account.1, 4
Updated
Sources
Every rule on this page links to the official page it comes from: 19 pages in all, checked between November 13, 2026 and November 15, 2026.
Show all sourcesHide sources
- 1Shanghai Municipal People's GovernmentPay with overseas bank cards
International visitors can link eligible bank cards issued outside the Chinese mainland to Alipay or Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay) without opening a bank account in the Chinese mainland.
Service fees for overseas bank cards linked to Alipay or Weixin Pay:
A transaction of 200 yuan or less is generally exempt from the platform's service fee.
A transaction above 200 yuan may incur a service fee of 3 percent of the full transaction amount.
Check the payment page for applicable fees and promotional exemptions before confirming a payment.
Transaction limits for overseas bank cards linked to Alipay or Weixin Pay:
Single transaction limit: Up to $5,000.
Annual cumulative limit: Up to $50,000.
Check the app for the limits applicable to your account.
- 2Shanghai Municipal People's GovernmentHow to use mobile payments in Shanghai
Download the Alipay app and register with your mobile phone number.
You can register with an overseas number before arriving in China. If you later get a Chinese SIM card, you can update your registered number in the app.
Step 3: Pay with Alipay
Scan the merchant's QR code: Open the Scan function, scan the merchant's QR code, enter the amount if required, and confirm the payment.
Display your payment code: Open your payment code and have the cashier scan it.
Step 3: Pay with Weixin Pay
As with Alipay, you can either scan the merchant's payment QR code or show your payment code for the merchant to scan.
- 3WeChat Help CenterGuide to Add and Use International Cards with Weixin Pay
Q: Do l need a Chinese Mainland (+86) phone number?
No. You can use your international phone number as long as it can receive SMS verification codes.
Tips: If you use your passport to verify your identity, you will get a notification asking you to upload a copy of your passport.
Passport or People's Republic of China Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card
Mainland Travel Permit or Residence Permit for Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan Residents.
Currently, international cards can be used for everyday purchases within the Chinese Mainland. However, international cards do not support certain features such as red packets and money transfers etc.
The exchange rate will be calculated based on the exchange rate of the card organization and the issuing bank of your international card.
There is a limit of 6,500 RMB for single transactions, a cumulative limit of 50,000 RMB for monthly transactions, and a cumulative limit of 65,000 RMB for yearly transactions.
- 4Alipay · In ChineseNotice of update to the User Service Agreement《用户服务协议（User Service Agreement）》更新公告
Before paying with the Bank Card for the first time, you shall submit the information of your passport or Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan according to the page prompts.
you may pay for your purchase from merchants within the People’s Republic of China (for the sole purpose of this Agreement and for the avoidance of any doubt, this does not include the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan)
Please refer to your card issuer statement for the amount paid by your Bank Card denominated in the local currency. We remind you that the exchange loss (if any) arising from your use of this service shall be solely borne by you.
You can only use this service to pay for your purchase from the PRC Merchants and shall not use this service for the purpose of money transfer, wealth management, cash withdrawal or other non-consumption purposes.
When you use this service, we will set payment limits based on the situation of business and have the right to adjust such payment limits based on any policy adjustment and/or business change, with the details being subject to page prompts. In addition, you shall comply with relevant business rules of the Bank Card issuers, such as maximum single payment and caps for daily or monthly accumulative payment.
- 5The State Council of the People's Republic of China (gov.cn)Payment service guide for overseas visitors to China
In addition, Alipay has also allowed foreigners to use their familiar home e-wallets by scanning Alipay QR codes.
Some international e-wallets, including TrueMoney and Changi Pay, can also be accepted by merchants in China. Foreign visitors who have these e-wallets can pay without downloading other apps, according to the PBOC.
Bank cards can be accepted if logos of the payment organizations are displayed at the checkout counter. Unionpay cards can be accepted by all merchants' point of sales (POS) terminals.
A circular, jointly issued by several government organs including the People's Bank of China (PBOC), stipulates that domestic and overseas bank cards should be accepted in all three-star and above tourist hotels, 5A-level and 4A-level national tourist attractions, national and provincial tourist resorts, as well as national tourism and leisure districts.
Foreign visitors can directly conduct exchanges at bank outlets with currency exchange signs, outlets of qualified financial institutions, or self-service kiosks. RMB cash can be withdrawn with bank cards at ATMs with logos of corresponding bank card organizations.
The single transaction limit for overseas visitors using mobile payments on payment platforms has now been raised from 1,000 U.S. dollars to 5,000 dollars. The annual cumulative transaction cap has been increased from 10,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars.
- 6TencentTencent Announces Three Initiatives to Make Inbound Payments for International Visitors Easier Than Ever During APEC 2026
Tencent has further upgraded Weixin Pay's "Pay with Your Home E-Wallet" services through China's unified cross-border QR-code gateway,
partnering with over 40 overseas wallet institutions worldwide
To date, integration with 36 overseas wallets have gone live, with more e-wallets from APEC economies to onboard soon
First-time users who link an international bank card to WeChat will, from the moment of their first transaction, enjoy a waiver on international card processing fees for 90 consecutive calendar days, up to RMB 1,000 per day.
- 7Beijing Municipal People's GovernmentBeijing Subway Supports Tap-and-Go with 5 Most Used Overseas Cards
It made Beijing's urban rail transit system become the world's first city rail system to achieve full-network coverage of payment services from all five major card organizations: China UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa, JCB, and American Express.
This service upgrade covers all 29 operational lines (including the two express lines to the airports, Xijiao Line, and Yizhuang T1 Line) and 523 stations across the city's entire network, as well as the Suburban Railway Line S2, enabling contactless card-tapping through all fare gates at all stations during their entire operating hours.
Passengers can pass through the gates instantly by holding their cards near the designated sensor areas on the fare gates without purchasing tickets or downloading Apps beforehand.
- 8Shanghai Municipal People's GovernmentMetro
Passengers can tap eligible contactless cards, including UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and JCB, as well as eligible e-CNY hardware wallets, at the gates for Tap to Ride.
- 9Guangzhou Municipal People's Government · In ChineseGuangzhou Metro improves gate entry for more bank cards: tap cards issued abroad at the gates from October 12广州地铁提升多种银行卡过闸体验 10月12日起可拍境外卡过闸搭地铁Our translation
With this, all Guangzhou Metro stations now cover payment services from the five major card organizations: China UnionPay, Mastercard, Visa, JCB and American Express.
From October 12, passengers holding contactless Mastercard, American Express, Visa and JCB cards issued outside China, as well as contactless Mastercard and American Express cards issued in China that support RMB transactions, can tap their cards directly at the gates marked with the card organizations' logos at all Guangzhou Metro stations.
至此，广州地铁实现所有车站覆盖中国银联、万事达、维萨、JCB、美国运通五大卡组织支付服务。
10月12日起，乘客持境外发行、具备非接触支付功能的万事达卡、美国运通卡、维萨卡、JCB卡，以及境内发行、具备非接触支付功能且支持人民币交易的万事达卡、美国运通卡，可在广州地铁所有车站标有卡组织标识的闸机直接“拍卡过闸”。
- 10Visa · In ChineseVisa launches Tap to Ride on the Guangzhou Metro, making it easier for inbound visitors to get around GuangzhouVisa 在廣州地鐵啟動 Tap to Ride 便利入境旅客暢遊廣州Our translation
In the Chinese mainland, Visa Tap to Ride is live in three major cities, Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu, covering more than 50 metro lines and 1,000 metro stations.
Chengdu is the first mainland city to launch Visa Tap to Ride on buses. The service covers more than 400 metro stations and more than 7,000 buses, giving inbound visitors a seamless travel experience.
在中國内地，Visa Tap to Ride 已在北京、上海、成都三大城市上線，覆蓋超過 50 條地鐵路線，涵蓋 1,000 個地鐵車站。
成都是首個在巴士上推出 Visa Tap to Ride 的内地城市。服務覆蓋 400 多個地鐵站和 7,000 多輛巴士，為入境旅客提供無縫出行體驗。
- 11Mastercard · In ChineseMastercard officially launches tap-to-enter on the Shenzhen Metro万事达卡正式开通深圳地铁“拍卡过闸”Our translation
The tap-to-enter function now officially launched on the Shenzhen Metro covers both Mastercard cards issued outside China and the new “China Mastercard” cards issued in China.
此次正式开通的深圳地铁“拍卡过闸”功能，同时覆盖中国境外发行的万事达卡以及中国境内发行的全新“中国万事达”卡。
- 12People's Bank of China · In ChineseAnnouncement [2025] No. 29 of the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Financial Regulatory Administration中国人民银行 国家发展改革委 金融监管总局公告〔2025〕第29号Our translation
Article 19 These Provisions shall come into force on February 1, 2026.
第十九条 本规定自2026年2月1日起施行。
Our translationExcept where non-cash payment instruments should be used in order to fulfil obligations prescribed by laws, regulations or rules or to perform statutory duties, cash shall not be refused, others shall not be required or induced to refuse cash, and no discriminatory measures shall be taken against cash payment that harm the convenience of cash payment.
除因履行法律、法规、规章规定的义务或法定职责而应使用非现金支付工具情形外，不得拒收现金，不得要求或诱导他人拒收现金，不得对现金支付采取歧视性措施，损害现金支付便利。
Our translationArticle 4 Where any of the following methods of charging or transacting is used, fee-charging entities and business entities shall support cash payment:
(1) Collecting payment manually.
(2) Providing face-to-face services.
(3) Booking or transacting online, with the service completed or the goods delivered offline, where the conditions for collecting payment in person are in place.
第四条 采取以下任一收费、交易方式的，收费单位、经营主体应支持现金支付：
（一）人工方式收款。
（二）提供面对面服务。
（三）线上预约或交易，线下完成服务或货物交付，且具备当面收款条件。
- 13People's Bank of ChinaGuide to Payment Services in China
You can withdraw RMB cash from ATMs that accept international bank cards at the port of entry, where you can also exchange other currencies for RMB through exchange service providers or self-service exchange machines. In downtown areas, you can still get RMB cash via these methods.
Kindly note that you can convert your remaining RMB cash back to your own currency or other major currencies in downtown areas or at the port of exit with the help of currency exchange service providers.
- 14State Administration of Foreign Exchange · In Chinese(Amended) Notice of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange on Issuing the Implementing Rules of the Measures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange（已修改）国家外汇管理局关于印发《个人外汇管理办法实施细则》的通知Our translation
Within the annual total, an individual's settlement and purchase of foreign exchange are handled at a bank with the individual's own valid identity document;
个人年度总额内的结汇和购汇，凭本人有效身份证件在银行办理；
Our translationArticle 13 Foreign individuals' purchases of foreign exchange with lawful current-account RMB income, and their conversion of unused RMB back into foreign exchange, are handled as follows:
(2) Converting unused RMB from an earlier exchange back into foreign exchange is handled with the individual's own valid identity document and the original exchange memo, which is valid for conversion back for 24 months from the date of exchange. Conversions of no more than the equivalent of US$500 (inclusive) in total on the day, and, before departure, of no more than the equivalent of US$1,000 (inclusive) in total on the day at places in China beyond customs, can be handled with the individual's own valid identity document.
第十三条 境外个人经常项目合法人民币收入购汇及未用完的人民币兑回，按以下规定办理：
（二）原兑换未用完的人民币兑回外汇，凭本人有效身份证件和原兑换水单办理，原兑换水单的兑回有效期为自兑换日起24个月；对于当日累计兑换不超过等值500美元（含）以及离境前在境内关外场所当日累计不超过等值1000美元（含）的兑换，可凭本人有效身份证件办理。
- 15State Administration of Foreign Exchange · In ChineseMeasures for the Administration of Individual Foreign Exchange个人外汇管理办法Our translation
(2) Foreign individuals means foreign citizens (including stateless persons) holding passports, Mainland Travel Permits for Hong Kong and Macao Residents or Mainland Travel Permits for Taiwan Residents, as well as compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
（二）境外个人是指持护照、港澳居民来往内地通行证、台湾居民来往大陆通行证的外国公民（包括无国籍人）以及港澳台同胞。
- 16Tenpay · In ChineseExplanation of the rules related to international card payment services关于国际卡支付服务相关规则的说明Our translation
International card transactions with a single transaction amount of RMB 200 or less (including RMB 200) are exempt from the international card fee; where a single transaction amount exceeds RMB 200, an international card fee of 3% of the single transaction amount is charged.
单笔交易金额人民币200元以下（包括人民币200元）的国际卡交易，免收国际卡手续费，单笔交易金额超过人民币200元的，按照单笔交易金额的3%收取国际卡手续费。
Our translationIf an international card fee is to be charged, we will clearly state on the service page the amount and rate of the international card fee and the reductions or exemptions (if any), with the amount accurate to 2 decimal places.
If the fee rules are adjusted, we will announce this publicly in advance.
如需收取国际卡手续费，我们将在服务页面明示国际卡手续费的金额、费率及减免情况（如有），金额精确到小数点后2位。
收费规则如有调整，我们将进行提前公示。
- 17Industrial and Commercial Bank of ChinaAutomatic Teller Machine
The highest single cash withdrawal of our ATM amounts to RMB 2,500, accumulated no more than RMB 20,000 per card per day.
- 18Agricultural Bank of China · In ChinesePayment Service Guide of Agricultural Bank of China for Visitors to China (Second Edition)中国农业银行境外来华人员支付服务指南（第二版）
You may withdraw RMB from ABC ATM conveniently and quickly by virtue of your foreign debit /credit cards (currently VISA, MasterCard, American Express cards supported), subject to individual cash withdrawal limit of RMB 3,000 and single-day accumulated cash withdrawal of no more than RMB 20,000 (which are ABC’s limit requirements, also subject to requirements of your card issuers).
- 19Bank of ChinaATM
The single transaction limit for ATM cash withdrawals using foreign cards within China is 3,000 yuan ($421.36). Other limits, including daily and annual cumulative limits, are determined by the issuing bank.
Each small number in the text is one of the 19 official pages under Sources at the end, checked between November 13, 2026 and November 15, 2026.
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