Thankfully, in July 2023, WeChat announced that it would start facilitating the use of Visa, Mastercard, JCB and other international cards for payments in China via WeChat Pay (sometimes known as Weixin Pay). This follows a similar move by Alipay in May 2023. WeChat has been trialling the ability for users to add international cards since 2019, but efforts had fallen by the wayside during the pandemic.
To get started adding an internationally-issued card to your WeChat Pay, you will need:
Then, take the following steps (the WeChat interface is available in English, so it should be fairly self-explanatory):
International cards can be used for everyday transactions in mainland China by scanning a QR code to pay or presenting your payment code or for in-app payments for things like e-commerce, food delivery and ride-hailing.
You won’t be able to send or accept money transfers or red packets (these can only be used if you have a mainland China bank account).
WeChat waives transaction fees for any single transaction under RMB 200 – very handy for everyday spending in small shops and restaurants. Above RMB 200, the transaction fee is 3%.
There is a limit of RMB 6,000 per transaction and a cumulative monthly spending limit of RMB 50,000.
Alipay also allows you to link a Visa, Mastercard or other international card, and the process is similar to linking a card to WeChat Pay. You will also need to have your identity documents to hand to complete real-name authentication.
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