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Setting up Alipay and Weixin Pay on a foreign passport
Documents, card networks, the 3 percent fee, the refund path and the verification step that raises the limits — from the platforms' own pages.
Living page — numbers read from the sources on 2026-10-12, re-checked quarterly.
Both apps let a visitor link a card issued outside the mainland and pay by QR code. Alipay’s own sheet sets that out in four steps, Weixin Pay’s help page in three (Alipay sheet, PDF, no printed date; WeChat help, read 2026-10-12). The two differ on the document list, the card networks each accepts, and where the identity check sits. Cost and merchant coverage are in Paying in China as a foreigner; this page is the setup.
What has to be in place first
- A phone number that receives SMS. Weixin Pay’s help page answers it directly: no mainland number is needed, an international one works as long as it can receive verification codes (WeChat help, read 2026-10-12). Its printable guide says the actual cardholder has to do the process (Weixin Pay guide, PDF, file metadata 2023-09-25, read 2026-10-12).
- The app, updated.
- A card issued outside the mainland, from a network that platform lists.
- An identity document. Weixin Pay prints which ones it takes; Alipay’s public pages describe the stage without printing one closed list.
Shanghai’s Alipay page adds that a foreign number can register before arrival and be changed after buying a mainland SIM card (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2024-03-12, updated 2026-07-21).
Which documents each platform accepts
| Document | Weixin Pay | Alipay |
|---|---|---|
| Passport | listed | passport upload is the verification route American Express documents (20 February 2025) |
| PRC Foreign Permanent Resident ID Card | listed | not stated on the pages I read |
| Mainland Travel Permit, or Residence Permit, for Hong Kong SAR, Macau SAR and Taiwan residents | listed | the service agreement names the travel permit as what a cardholder submits before a first payment; it does not name the residence permit |
Weixin Pay’s help page answers that question in those three lines (WeChat help, read 2026-10-12); its printable guide prints the same list with pictures and says documents outside it are not supported (Weixin Pay guide, PDF, 2023-09-25).
Alipay spreads the statements out. The Alipay+ page describes the flow as download, sign up, choose the International Version, bind a card, and states that eligible international cards are credit and debit cards issued outside the mainland (Alipay+, read 2026-10-12). Its sheet opens with “Get ready with your related identity documents” and names card networks, without listing identity documents. The screen-level detail comes from an issuer: American Express’s FAQ describes selecting the country or region on a government-issued ID, and says a passport upload is requested for identity verification once annual transactions pass 2,000 US dollars (Amex FAQ, PDF, 20 February 2025).
The card networks each platform lists
| Platform | Networks named | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alipay | UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club, Discover | PCAC guide, PDF, 2026-07-07 |
| Weixin Pay | UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club, Discover | PCAC guide, PDF, 2026-07-07 |
The Guide to Payment Services in China, PDF, which Chinese missions posted in July 2026, prints both lists; the Perth consulate credits it to the Payment & Clearing Association of China (2026-07-03). Alipay’s own sheet names VISA, Mastercard, Discover and Diners Club and adds “and so on”; its Chinese service agreement defines an eligible card as one issued by VISA International, MasterCard International or another offshore international card organisation, and leaves the applicable list to the page prompt (Alipay agreement, notice dated 2021-08-20). Shanghai’s page of 15 December 2023 lists four networks for Alipay and five for Weixin Pay (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2023-12-15). Mastercard announced Alipay linking on 21 June 2023 and Weixin Pay on 7 August 2023 (Mastercard, 2023-06-21; Mastercard, 2023-08-07).
The steps, as each platform prints them
| Alipay | Weixin Pay |
|---|---|
| 1. Have the identity documents and the international card ready | 1. Download or update WeChat, register with a phone number or sign in |
| 2. Download or update Alipay, register a phone number or sign in | 2. Tap Me, Pay and Services, Wallet |
| 3. Me, Bank Cards, Add card; the sheet calls the stage “Verification and Adding Bank Card” and has a “Verify now” button beside it | 3. Bank Cards, Add a Bank Card; read the Weixin Pay User Service Agreement and Privacy Policy, tap Agree, fill in identity information, tap Next |
| 4. Scan the merchant’s QR code, or tap Pay/Collect and show your own | 4. Pay the same two ways, from the plus sign at the top right |
Sources: Alipay sheet, PDF; WeChat help, read 2026-10-12; english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2026-09-20. One tip there: a passport check triggers a notification asking for a copy of the passport.
Three details sit outside them. The American Express version of the Alipay flow chooses a region, then takes the mobile number, the service agreement, the on-screen verification action and the country or region on the ID; the card goes in under Me, Bank Cards, the plus sign, with the card number, expiry date and CVV, and a six-digit code by SMS may or may not be requested. Deleting a card later needs the six-digit payment password created at registration (Amex FAQ, PDF, 20 February 2025). If the Weixin Pay wallet entry is missing, Shanghai’s page gives a route through Me, Settings, General, Tools, WeChat Pay, and another by scanning a Weixin Pay QR code and tapping Enable (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2023-12-15). The wallet region can also be the wrong one: Tencent’s guide says some accounts open a Hong Kong or Malaysia wallet, that the mainland wallet shows the yuan sign, and that the switch is Me, Services, the three dots, Select Wallet Region, China Mainland (Weixin Pay guide, PDF, 2023-09-25).
Verification is what changes the limit
Tencent said in April 2024 that simplified card linking lets visitors spend “up to a certain amount”, that submitting information for identity verification raises the single transaction limit from 1,000 to up to 5,000 US dollars and the annual limit from 10,000 to up to 50,000, and that passport verification can take seconds (Tencent, 2024-04-12). American Express describes the same trigger from the other side: verification is required for annual transaction values above 2,000 dollars, and on success the limits become 5,000 per transaction and 50,000 a year (Amex FAQ, PDF, February 2025). The dollar figures are the central bank’s: on 1 March 2024 the People’s Bank of China said it would guide the platforms to raise the single limit from 1,000 to 5,000 dollars and the annual cap from 10,000 to 50,000, and to simplify identity verification (gov.cn, 2024-03-01). The 1,000 and 10,000 figures are the pre-March-2024 levels and no longer apply. The government page current on 2026-09-21 prints up to 5,000 dollars a transaction and 50,000 dollars a year for both platforms, and adds that the limit that applies is the one the app shows (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2026-09-21).
| Figure | Alipay | Weixin Pay |
|---|---|---|
| Single transaction | 3,000 yuan | 6,500 yuan |
| Monthly cumulative | 50,000 yuan | 50,000 yuan |
| Annual cumulative | 60,000 yuan | 65,000 yuan |
| Printed as two tiers? | no, one set per account | no, one set per account |
| Source | Alipay sheet, PDF | WeChat help |
No page I loaded converts yuan into dollars; each platform prints one flat set per account, and the government page of 2026-09-21 prints dollars only. Alipay’s agreement says limits follow the business situation, may be adjusted and are “subject to page prompts”, and a cardholder also obeys the issuing bank’s caps (Alipay agreement, notice dated 2021-08-20).
What the platforms charge
| Item | Alipay | Weixin Pay |
|---|---|---|
| 200 yuan or less | no fee | no fee |
| Above 200 yuan | 3 percent | 3 percent |
| That fee on a refund | refunded along with the payment order amount | reimbursed in proportion to the refunded amount |
| Currency | billed in yuan; foreign exchange charges follow the cardholder agreement | rate from the card organisation and the issuing bank |
| Campaign | none stated on the pages I read | 90-day waiver of the 3 percent for first-time linkers, daily spending up to 1,000 yuan, announced 2026-05-27 |
Sources: Alipay sheet, PDF; WeChat help, read 2026-10-12; Amex FAQ, PDF, 20 February 2025, which states the 3 percent as a handling fee on all international bank card transactions greater than 200 yuan; Tencent, 2026-05-27; english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2026-09-21, which puts the exemption at 200 yuan or less and the fee at 3 percent of the full amount.
The 3 percent is charged on the whole amount (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2026-09-21): a 300-yuan payment carries 9 yuan (my arithmetic). American Express adds that transactions through the wallet appear on the statement as “Alipay China” (Amex FAQ, PDF, 20 February 2025).
What a linked foreign card cannot do
- No person-to-person transfers, no sending or receiving red packets, no wealth management, no insurance: Alipay’s visitor page, which describes international cards as being for “everyday purchases within the Chinese Mainland” (Alipay+, read 2026-10-12).
- Weixin Pay’s help page: international cards do not support “certain features such as red packets and money transfers” (WeChat help, read 2026-10-12).
- Alipay’s agreement is the bluntest: the user “shall not use this service for the purpose of money transfer, wealth management, cash withdrawal or other non-consumption purposes” (Alipay agreement, notice dated 2021-08-20).
- Topping up a wallet balance is not part of it: those features need a mainland-bank debit card (Weixin Pay guide, PDF, 2023-09-25).
- Card slots are capped at three international cards; a fourth means unlinking one (same PDF).
- The name on the card has to match the name registered on the account (english.shanghai.gov.cn, 2023-12-15).
Refunds, as far as the documents go
American Express documents a route inside Alipay. The first instruction is to ask the merchant.
| Step | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Merchant cannot be reached | Me, My Transactions, the transaction, Contact Payee, then a message |
| Contact Payee is absent | Query Order, then “How to contact the seller” |
| No reply after 48 hours | Alipay customer service: Me, Help Center, Chat, or +86 571-2688-6000 |
Source: Amex FAQ, PDF, 20 February 2025.
The fee follows the refund, and the two platforms word that differently: Alipay “refunded along with the payment order amount”, Weixin Pay “reimbursed in proportion to the refunded amount” (Alipay sheet, PDF; WeChat help). Neither states how long a card refund takes. The PCAC guide carries both English service lines on the pages describing the setup: Alipay on +86-571 2688 6000, Weixin Pay on +86-571-95017 (PCAC guide, PDF, posted 2026-07-07).
Where the guides and the official pages part company
| Claim that circulates | What the first-party pages say |
|---|---|
| You need a mainland phone number | Both say no; only SMS reception is asked for, and Shanghai’s Alipay page adds that registration can happen before arrival |
| You need a mainland bank account | Not to pay. The need appears at the edges, for a balance top-up and for transfers and red packets |
| Verify your passport before the first payment | Tencent presents simplified linking and verification as two levels of one flow and puts verification behind the higher limits; American Express puts Alipay’s verification prompt at 2,000 dollars of annual transactions; Alipay’s sheet says to tap Verify now at the card-adding stage and names no threshold |
| Prepaid and virtual cards are refused | Reported in guides; no first-party page I loaded states a rule by card type |
| A data-only eSIM is enough | The only first-party text is Tencent’s troubleshooting list for a missing code: data roaming on, area code not left on the default +86, no security app blocking SMS |
| The 1,000-dollar single and 10,000-dollar annual caps | Superseded. The central bank raised them on 2024-03-01 (gov.cn), and the government page of 2026-09-21 prints 5,000 dollars a transaction and 50,000 a year (english.shanghai.gov.cn). A Shanghai page of 2023-12-15 still prints the old pair (english.shanghai.gov.cn) |
How I checked this
Everything above was read on 2026-10-12; each figure carries its source and date where it appears.
Platform documents: Weixin Pay’s live English help page, the only public English FAQ of the two, plus Tencent’s printable user guide and two Tencent newsroom items (2024-04-12 and 2026-05-27). Alipay’s consumer help pages sit inside the app, and its public site serves merchant documentation, so the yuan limits and the steps come from two Alipay-authored sheets hosted outside Alipay’s domains: one on a conference site, dated 2024-03-05 by PDF metadata and with no printed date; the other on a university site, an image-only PDF I could not extract text from. That is this page’s weakest link.
Government and issuer documents: the PCAC payment guide posted in July 2026, the central bank’s briefing as carried by gov.cn on 2024-03-01, four Shanghai government pages (Alipay setup and card linking from 2023-2024, mobile payments and overseas cards from September 2026), and American Express’s Alipay wallet FAQ dated 20 February 2025 — the only first-party document I found that describes the refund path and the verification threshold at screen level.
Where sources disagree, I kept both: the card network lists, the yuan limits against the dollar ceiling, and the fee-on-refund wording.
What I could not check
- How the yuan limits and the dollar limits relate. The platforms print yuan, the government page and the issuers print dollars, and no page converts.
- Whether verification raises Alipay’s yuan limits as it raises the dollar ones. Tencent describes two levels for Weixin Pay; Alipay’s sheet prints one flat set per account.
- How long a refund to an international card takes. Both say the fee returns; neither states a settlement period.
- Whether a partial refund returns the fee proportionally on Alipay. The two platforms’ sentences differ, and Alipay’s does not address a partial amount.
- Any rule about card type. Prepaid, virtual and some co-branded cards are said in guides to fail at linking. No platform or network page I could load states such a rule.
- Alipay’s accepted identity-document list. Weixin Pay prints a closed list; Alipay’s agreement names a passport or the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan travel permit, and no residence permit or permanent-resident card, while its help pages print no list.
- Whether the sub-200-yuan exemption has an end date, and how the 2026 waiver is applied. The live pages give the exemption no expiry; Tencent states the waiver’s length and daily cap.