Payment tips for newcomers to China 

All Chinese international airports should open desks and help foreigners set up Chinese paying Apps.

Welcome to modern day China.✌️❤️🇨🇳

It's even better for outsiders to visit China if English language is included on Beidou map. So, foreigners can use Beidou map to navigate in cities.

Ok, I'm going again. Already using most systems, happy to hear improvements are coming, too!!

I have added wechat and alipay payments on my phone. I will be going to china in 2 weeks. I look forward to see wechat and alipay will work. Fingers crossed. Love from Canada.

Some apps not just need eloctronic payments but also that the app is connected to a Chinese ID like ordering food in a train or for some tickets. Maybe here there will be an international passport be accepted in the near future. But I'm very happy to see the develoment.

Also , China government needs to open a new department and 24/7 hotline to take care all foreign visitors matters! Good Hospitality wins traveler’s hearts!

China is a beautiful country . People are warm and welcoming. I have been there twice and always enjoyed myself. This is a good channel to get the Chinese perspective.

Cashless society is here to stay and Thanks to China for pioneering the digital payment system.

It's not just payments, I found it difficult to find AA batteries in Jiangmen. The younger clerks didn't even know what they are. China is already in the future.

China is a very modern nation. If you are crystal clear, you don't need to worry about your facial identity.

It’s not true that China is cashless. Lots of places, especially small roadside stores, not only accept but prefer cash. But it certainly is moving away from cash. There are advantages and disadvantages to that, depending on who you are and where you buy things. I always have cash available when I’m there, but it is true that most larger stores and restaurants and hotels etc prefer direct payment

BoC should develop a product something like visitor (temporary) rechargeable debit card, buy it, scan and store it in an app, then go and live. It should offer to visitors online before they arrive.

It’s about time China did this. BTW western countries are largely cashless as well now. I haven’t used cash for a long time. The difference is that countries like the USA have been using credit cards for decades and are comfortable in that, though there is a slow movement toward direct payments via phone apps. China never developed a credit card system to speak of so it went directly to direct payment systems. I’ll be in China this summer and I’m delighted this barrier to foreigners has been taken down. I’m not too worried about security since most credit cards will cancel purchases you say you didn’t make and you won’t have to pay anything.

Maybe printed flyers for tourists arriving in China especially for senior or elderly tourists desiring to tour China. Thank you

always people first. I visit India this country is so difficult only money first don't care about people.

Awesome info. Can’t wait to visit !

There is no doubt that we need to move forward as fast as we can couple with, but at the same time, there should not be any major inconvenience as byproducts created in the forward rush for outside visitors. We need to strike a balance between these two constantly.

I tried to change some old yuan at a bank about 5 years ago and the staffs don’teven recognize their currency that they have to call a higher positioned staff to help out

Cashless society give more power to corporations and government to violate your privacy. Cash is privacy. Cash is freedom

How about an app that offers all the essentials for international tourists?

Yes, please make it easy to put foreign bank cards on Wechat and Alipay. Also, please have the Chinese navigation and transport apps in English and other languages. 👍🇦🇺

How about use a loadable payment card with QR code while visiting and cash out when leaving the country.

Great interview. 10/10. I am afraid this is so rare nowadays.

ok next video, cgtn should show us overseas people how to register for Wechat pay and Ali pay please. I'm keen to visit China :)

Would love to visit China as a tourist. Need more of these practical guidance videos. Is there an official tourism website with helpful info?

The reality is China is not foreign friendly and the more you go out of the major cities the more difficult it becomes for travelers because of language barriers . Fast food chains are basically unusable for visitors as app pay is required and you need to scan the menu to order . Hiring umbrellas ,bikes, phone battery ect is also impossible if it requires scanning. Fix is on arrival / at any money exchanges have the option to set a up a visitors wechat account where they can deposit money via cash / debit/ credit card onto the app, show them how to use it. Once the visit ends they can withdraw any unused money . And explain to visitors that cash / foreign cards are a bad payment option as basically Alipay and wechat are the preferred payment options

cash is king, china should never abandon it. it was the chinese invented the printing. why not both cash and digital payments. it is terrible in london for travel, not toliet, transport is running by member ship card, parking is not accepting cash. using cash is a win win for all. sure the chinese local can use their system but cash should be good idea and good for economy printing money is an industry it self

Fascinating!👍🙏🐲🐉🐼🌏🙂

Need to sort it out as otherwise it will impact on tourism .

I downloaded both aliepay and wechat here in the US (because I planned to travel to China), but I couldn't use the apps... also, they're in Chinese. China needs to do its parts first

It'll be good if there were more lanes for foreigners in customs. The hour wait (sometimes more) is a real turn off.

The point is to always have options for different needs, By all means, go cashless for the local population. But also have cash payment options for visitors. The downside to everything digital is when the website is down or there's an outage, it still falls back on cash. WeChat is tied to a local bank a/c and Alipay works at times, at times don't. And then most other apps like Whatsapp, RU-vid, FB use mostly by international visitors become unavailable unless you download a VPN. Also not all VPNs work seamlessly in China. Navigating around which VPN works or doesn't work is another hassle. That's why international tourists are not that many in China. Language of course is another barrier, although translation apps help a bit, but not all the times.

Thank you for sharing. I was nervous before planning my trip to China because of payment system, but your video helped a lot. 😊

Every person young or old in Asia have a mobile device. Not so for the average American. To go all out on digital & cashless scares the hell out of them...

Now Chinese government announced that the cash is still the basic, Chinese government change the policy all the time

People worry about credit card security. So it is easier to start with just balance with no credit card linkage. Top up when needed. They can link their credit cards when they feel comfortable.

All they have to do is have money change kiosks at the airport and bank locations everywhere where visitors download the approved app tied to your passport and foreign cash can be exchanged and the electronic balance uploaded to the visitor e-wallet. Then it can be just a simple pay as you go system. With no confusion. Why does it have to be so difficult for so many years?

As a Chinese Canadian, I watched a youtube tutorial to get set up on Alipay but then realized when I got to China that it's limited to 100 RMB per transaction - also none of my Canadian credit cards worked. So basically my relatives had to pay for everything which was really lame.

Don’t need credit card in app, cost 3% fees. Get Chinese friends to top up then transfer money directly to their bank accounts, usually no fees transfer.

3% transaction fee for amount over 30US$ is quite expensive, plus the 2.5% of foreign exchange fee, therefore 5.5 percent extra fee to use wechat pay etc.

I've loved visiting China many times but now feel there is a lot of inconveniency due to difficult payment options. No cash is not my thing too.

It's still inconvenient for foreign travellers.

This is so informative as I’m going to China in September!

Cashlesss is a big No in a country where citizens don't trust the gov. Can only work in Chna

Interesting. Shows the convenience of one app to rule them all. Does raise all sorts of questions around ownership and public vs private models of governance.

Please make the apps multi lingual.

The video doesn't help in solving our problems of unable to use the payment apps.

Sir you pay $10/day? Seems awfully expensive 😮

being english i have alipay connected to my credit card but can not get wechat pay in the uk which i find annoying when i come to China to vist my in-laws

Getting people to adopt credit card terminals will never work, no matter how cheap it is. It just isn't optimal for street vendors, wet markets, and other less formal business venues popular in Asia. Meanwhile, phones are already always in everyone's hand. These apps will even work with just a QR code printed on a sign or lanyard. A separate card terminal you have to charge, lug around, and find a space to put it, isn't worth the hassle for the off-chance a tourist come around.

Supporter of a cashless society! Paper money is so dirty and not environmentally friendly!

Thanks , good info 👍

3% processing fee on any transaction that is over 200 yuan is a deal breaker for me. So no…

Payment and getting taxi by phone are ridiculously difficult for foreigners. Why China is so slow in taking action to rectify it?

1) China apps should give foreigners an option to choose English language on China apps and payment machines at shops and restaurants. Its very difficult to use China apps and China payment machines if you are not very fluent in Chinese language. 2) China should not restrict foreigners to only use a certain small number of Hotels. It would be wonderful if foreigners are allowed to stay in all the same hotels as local China people. Its also good if China allow foreign tourists to rent the residential house or apartment or room from China people. 3) China should allow foreigners to set up their China apps a few weeks in advance BEFORE they travel to China, rather than only allowing them to set up and configure everything in a rush when they arrive at airport in China 4)China should allow foreigners to access China apps and China websites and social media websites and China dating websites even if they dont have China telephone sim cards. Some foreigners tried to use many China apps but not possible because they dont have China telephone sim card . 5)China apps and websites should allow even people who have no China friends to join in the apps and China websites because some apps dont allow foreigners to join in, unless if they already have China friend so this makes it so difficult to even get in the door in first place .

It was like hell to visit China without local bank card. Even exchanged currency in 2nd or 3rd tiers cities. 😢

i would prefer a direct way to top up an e-wallet. using banks is one more entity i need to deal with. if telecom companies can offer a sim card which serve as an e-wallet, that would be more direct since alot of chinese app requires a chinese number anyway.

Alipay and Octopus have had trouble recognising some ethnic minority/ foreign faces. It is a great technological impedance to some people.

Can I add overseas bank saving account to WeChat app? Instead of credit card account.

Please make an English language front end for China's most popular payment app, that can be downloaded *before* ones trip to China and which you can cannect your foreign payments cards / bank accounts to. Please also put step by step demos on youtube of how to set it up and pay with it.

... cash less it's a must go... but foreign coming might b issues bcos... WiFi connection 2 triggered apps might b 1 issue...s... certain cards issues could b use... only...

Dont wreck your brains trying to set these up. Just use cash. I arrived in china last week and I have had no issues paying with cash. The payment is gladly accepted. 2 instances where the seller did not have change but he was able to get help and got change before I even finished my food. If you attempt to e pay, you likely will be able to link your credit card to alipay. However you do not have the wallet feature which means most merchants will not be able to process your payment unless they accept credit cards. So to make things simple, just pay with cash.

I use Alipay linked to foreign credit card. In November when I traveled in China. A lot of second tier city restaurants do not accept my Alipay. I suppose these establishments do not accept credit cards.

Too bad China makes payment unacceptable to outsiders. That is why vacationers are down over 60% from 2019. If they don't open up, China will keep losing business.

Good morning ❤️🇨🇳CGTN🦾😇👋

I have WeChat in SG, but cannot put money into the app

So, how do I connect my US credit card to my WeChat?

simple if you loose your phone??

For the sake of this conversation can I assume that Credit cards and Debit cards are equally useless?

I hate phones, too small for my aging eyes. So I only use cash still in Shanghai. Please don’t go 100% cashless, or at least introduce pre-paid cards.

Why China not just put some bank or exchange in airport so foreigner can transfer fiat to e-money ?

It would probably be advertisement if the obvious wasn't present 🤔❤️

QR codes are not user friendly. Always having to open the app and use the camera makes payments slow. Using the hand palm is a big step forward. Normal bank cards are still more user friendly than an app on the phone and scanning QR codes.

20 sec? B*S. For a tourist, it'll take much longer than that and frustration. After one has set up, it's limited to something like RMB2,500 (some amount). How can this be enough for tourists?

All sounds good and easy until you get home to find out the credit card charges are astronomical for foreign usage. Some cards have extra charges per transaction and what about the poor exchange rates!!! Just watch out - it's not as EASY!!!

The cashless transaction in China and USA is stalled or advanced by the big banks. For decades China big banks and U.S. big banks can’t agree on sharing the transaction fees. The problem has never been about technology. It has always been about the money. VISA and MC want access to China’s one billion customers while Chinese credit card companies want access to the US market. Each proposed an expedient fee formula that safeguards their domestic market share. In a perfect financial world the competition between US and China banks will lower the cost of cashless transactions.

Find it very funny whereby you carry paper RMB into China as a foreign tourist and then told by locals they are not accepting their own paper cash. Paper RMB becomes toilet paper? I still have 15-20K of paper RMB from previous visits

this guy looks like Morgan Piers

Unlike in China, cash in the US is legal tender for all transactions; it’s the law that all establishments accept cash.

Visa, master, amex, etc dying

For a tourist to come to China for just few days, need to do homework? Is this friendly? Why China don't make it friendly for tourists.

UPI देखा हे 😂😂

So beggars have smart phones? Nice deal 😎 How about that social credit score tho?

欢迎来到中国

I’m sorry but this conversation is completely confusing to anyone who doesn’t know about electronic payments in China. I would have started saying in China >90% people use no cash but only two apps to pay for everything-Alipay and Wechat which they can download on their phones. They pay by scanning QR codes at the stores, in the restaurants or in the taxis. (Don’t expect people already know these, they don’t) They need to how to link their credit cards step by step, and what type of credit cards, what are the fees etc.

China has to dumb down for the foreign visitors 😂😂

Or don't go to China. I have been several times, but I will not go again.

one reason i didn`t want to go to china.s

Pay like a local? Depends on what kind of local. If it's those old aunties that no one likes, they just take and scream without paying

For seniors this is confusing

At least should let those who have Chinese passport to use local apps to make payments in China.

我看cgtn的视频播放量在油管经常只有几百，几十，这个有3.9万。看来这个需求确实很大啊。doge

Stopped to pay a local ...

WHO WANTS TO GO TO A COUNTRY WHERE YOU CANT USE CASH!!😂😂😂😂😂😂

CHINESE TOURISM SECTOR HAS ALMOST COLLAPSED -TOURISTS DO VISIT COUNTRIES WHERE YOU CANT EASILY BUY A COCA COLA😂😂😂😂 -

Thanks , good info 👍

1) China apps should give foreigners an option to choose English language on China apps and payment machines at shops and restaurants. Its very difficult to use China apps and China payment machines if you are not very fluent in Chinese language. 2) China should not restrict foreigners to only use a certain small number of Hotels. It would be wonderful if foreigners are allowed to stay in all the same hotels as local China people. Its also good if China allow foreign tourists to rent the residential house or apartment or room from China people. 3) China should allow foreigners to set up their China apps a few weeks in advance BEFORE they travel to China, rather than only allowing them to set up and configure everything in a rush when they arrive at airport in China 4)China should allow foreigners to access China apps and China websites and social media websites and China dating websites even if they dont have China telephone sim cards. Some foreigners tried to use many China apps but not possible because they dont have China telephone sim card .