Mobile Payments
China is nearly cash‑free now. I have hardly used cash for many years. Cash is legal here, but most shops and taxi drivers cannot give you change.
Foreign credit cards also have limited use. Visa and Mastercard only work in big shopping malls and international hotels. They are not accepted in most other places.
In short, do not count on cash or foreign bank cards. Alipay and WeChat Pay work for almost everything you can think of. Below I will show you how to set up these two apps.
Alipay
Alipay is my top pick for foreign visitors. It is quite easy to use. The video below shows you step‑by‑step how foreigners can use Alipay and link foreign credit cards.
Besides paying for things, you can also book taxis and hotels on it.
WeChat Pay
WeChat is both a social app and a payment tool. The video below shows how foreigners can sign up for WeChat and link their foreign credit cards.
Apart from chatting and paying, WeChat has a very useful real‑time translation feature. It translates what people say right away and works as a great communication tool.
