Foreign travelers can now use Alipay without a Chinese bank account
A prepaid card on Alipay lets foreigners top-up using international credit cards, giving it an advantage over Tencent’s WeChat Pay
Paying for things in China has become an increasingly frustrating experience for tourists in China, where mobile payments have become the norm. But Alipay and the Bank of Shanghai have now made it much easier.
As China has shifted to payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay, cash has become an increasingly rare sight in the country. Many places no longer accept cash at all. The problem for foreigners is that these platforms require a Chinese bank account, and it’s become difficult for people on tourist visas to open bank accounts in China.
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(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, whose affiliate Ant Financial operates Alipay.)
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Alipay users can find the mini program just by searching for Tour Pass within the app. When they open it up, they have the option to top-up a digital prepaid card from the Bank of Shanghai.
This may come as a relief to many people who travel to China, but setting up the account still isn’t seamless. As with normal Alipay accounts, users must submit their passport number and upload a picture of a valid Chinese visa.
Once everything is set up, users can add money to Tour Pass using bank cards from Visa and Mastercard, among some other supported options. Users have to top-up a minimum of 100 yuan (US$14), and the balance is capped at 2,000 yuan (US$282).
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While paying for things won’t be a problem for tourists anymore, Tour Pass doesn’t give foreign users access to all of Alipay’s functions. Alipay told us that Tour Pass users can’t transfer their Tour Pass money to other Alipay users. So splitting a dinner bill with friends could still be a hassle.
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