WeChat Pay for foreigners: how to add your card from home
Checked
Short answer
Get ready: your phone number from home, a credit or debit card from home and your passport.1, 2
Sign up for WeChat with your own phone number.
Add your card and verify your passport in Wallet.
Pay in China: scan the shop’s QR code, or show your payment code.
Get ready
- Your phone number from home. You don’t need a Chinese number: yours works as long as it can receive text messages with codes.1, 3 Keep it able to receive texts during the trip: WeChat may ask you to verify again by text.
- A credit or debit card from home. You can add UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover cards.4 Bring a second card from another bank in case the first doesn’t work.
- Your passport. You use it to verify your identity when you add your card.1
- A WeChat user who can help, if you know one. When you sign up, WeChat may ask an existing user to scan a code for you5; if no one can, there are two other ways, shown below.
Sign up for WeChat
- Download WeChat, or update it to the latest version.1 Get it from the App Store or Google Play.
- Turn off any VPN while you sign up, and use only the official app.5
- Tap Sign Up, then Sign up with mobile, choose your region code, enter your phone number and set a password.3, 5
If WeChat asks someone to scan a code
Ask a friend nearby, or another WeChat user, to scan the code with their WeChat. If no one can help, tap Verify via Payment Card and follow the steps, or tap Verify and Activate WeChat Pay instead.5 Then follow the screens. This is the step most travelers get stuck on — if you can, ask before you fly.
Add your card and verify your passport
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Tap Me, then Pay and Services.1
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Tap Wallet.1
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Tap Bank Cards.1
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Tap Add a Bank Card, read the user agreement and privacy policy, and tap Agree.1
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Fill in your identity information as the screens ask, then tap Next and add your card.1
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If you verified with your passport, WeChat sends you a notification asking for a copy of it: open the notification and upload the copy.1
Without identity verification, you can only spend a small amount (the app shows the limit).3, 6 Upload your passport before you go. You’re set once your card shows under Bank Cards and your passport is uploaded.
Pay in China
Tap + in the upper-right corner, then Scan, and scan the shop’s QR code. Or tap +, then Money, and show your payment code to the cashier.4
You can pay at shops, but you can’t send money to people or send red packets.1 Pay a private guide or driver, or a friend, in cash.
Most shops show both a WeChat Pay and an Alipay code, so WeChat Pay alone covers most payments.
More on when to use your card or cash instead: How to pay in China.
When it doesn’t work
WeChat Pay says you can’t use your card
First, check that you uploaded your passport (step 6 of Add your card and verify your passport). Then try your other card, or pay with Alipay — when one app turns your card down, the other often works. If no card works, call your bank: it may be blocking payments from China. WeChat Pay’s English hotline: +86 571 95017, or 95017 from a Chinese number.4, 7
A small shop’s code refuses your card
At some small shops, street stalls and drivers, your card won’t work — they use a personal payment code that doesn’t take cards from home. Pay in cash there.
WeChat asks you to verify again
WeChat Pay can ask you to verify your identity again partway through a trip, and then send a code by text to your phone number. If the code does not come, turn your home SIM card back on: texts to your number don’t reach a data-only travel eSIM. Pay with Alipay or cash until it works again.
WeChat restricts your account
Follow the instructions on the screen and complete one of the checks WeChat offers, such as asking friends to help or an ID check.8
Fees and limits
WeChat Pay charges no fee on a payment of 200 yuan or less with a card from home, and 3% of the total on a larger payment. The payment page shows the fee before you confirm. Checked .9 New to WeChat Pay? No fee for your first 90 days, on payments up to 1,000 yuan a day.10
Your bank and card brand (Visa, Mastercard, etc.) set the exchange rate1, and your bank’s foreign transaction fee comes on top. On a big bill, pay with the card itself where the checkout shows its logo6 — that skips WeChat Pay’s 3%.
Official pages disagree
Three official sources give different spending limits (checked ):1, 3, 6
Swipe the table to see every column.
We show all three and do not choose one.
The app shows the limits on your own account.11
Updated
Sources
Every rule on this page links to the official page it comes from: 11 pages in all, checked between November 13, 2026 and November 15, 2026.
Show all sourcesHide sources
- 1WeChat 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.
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.
Tips: If you use your passport to verify your identity, you will get a notification asking you to upload a copy of your passport.
On your mobile phone, Download or Update your WeChat app to the latest version. Register with your phone number or sign in.
Tap Me - Pay and Services - Wallet
In Wallet, tap Bank Cards - Add a Bank Card. Read the Weixin Pay User Service Agreement and Privacy Policy and tap Agree.
Follow the steps on the screen to fill in your identity information. Tap Next to add your card.
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.
- 2TencentTencent’s Weixin Pay Enhances Mobile Payment Experience for Overseas Users Visiting China to Pay Like a Local
People entering the Chinese Mainland can use their passports, Mainland Travel Permit and Mainland Residence Permit for Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR, and Taiwan residents, or Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card to set up their Weixin Pay, link an international credit card or debit card, and start enjoying mobile payments across the country.
- 3TencentTencent Further Enhances Digital Payment Services for Visitors to China, with Process Streamlined and More Overseas Wallets Linked
overseas users can register for a WeChat account with an overseas mobile number (i.e. any country/region code other than +86)
The simplified card linking process allows international visitors to spend up to a certain amount safely and conveniently.
For those who would like to enjoy a higher transaction limit, they can complete the identity verification process by submitting relevant information.
Weixin Pay has increased transaction limits for verified international users, with the single transaction limit being raised from US$1,000 to up to US$5,000, and annual transaction limit being raised from US$10,000 to up to US$50,000.
- 4People's Bank of ChinaGuide to Payment Services in China
UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club, and Discover cards can all be added to Weixin Pay.
Method 1: Tap the "+" sign at the upper right corner and then the "Scan" icon, and scan the merchant's QR code.
Method 2: Tap the "+" sign at the upper right corner and then the "Money" icon, and present your QR code to the merchant.
English Service Hotline
Weixin Pay
+86-571-95017
Please dial 95017 if you are using a Chinese number.
- 5WeChat Help CenterHow do I sign up for WeChat and assistance registration?
Invite a nearby friend or another WeChat user to scan a QR Code using their WeChat to assist with your registration.
If no WeChat users are available to assist, you can verify with bank card by tapping 「Verify via Payment Card」
Alternatively, you can verify through WeChat Pay by tapping 「Verify and Activate WeChat Pay」
please do not use a non-official version of WeChat, disconnect from any VPN during registration, and make sure your device and network are within a safe and reliable environment.
Open the WeChat app and tap 「Sign Up」>「Sign up with mobile」> choose your region code> enter your mobile> set a password.
- 6The State Council of the People's Republic of China (gov.cn)Payment service guide for overseas visitors to China
No ID information is required for transactions under a certain amount when foreigners use mobile payments such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, the PBOC said.
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.
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.
- 7TencentWelcome to China Easy Pay with Weixin Pay
Weixin Pay Customer Service: 95017 (Chinese Mainland);
+86 571 95017 (Outside Chinese Mainland)
- 8WeChat Help CenterStep-by-step guidance to remove account restrictions
Check for on-screen instructions in your WeChat app, select any one of the available verification options and complete the verification.
If select 「Verify via asking friends to assist」：
If select 「Verify via ID check」：
- 9Tenpay · 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。
- 10TencentTencent Announces Three Initiatives to Make Inbound Payments for International Visitors Easier Than Ever During APEC 2026
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.
- 11Shanghai Municipal People's GovernmentPay with overseas bank cards
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.
Each small number in the text is one of the 11 official pages under Sources at the end, checked between November 13, 2026 and November 15, 2026.
Where this comes from
