YoucandownloadtheWeChatappfromtheAppStoreoritsofficialwebsite.YoumayseeitsnameappearasWeixin,itistheChinesepronunciationofthisapp.Itisnotonlyapaymenttool,butalsoaninstantcommunicationlikeWhatsApp.YoucannotonlyuseittopaybutalsocommunicatewithyourlocaltourguideandyourChinesefriends.
Firstlyyouneedtosignup.Therearetwowaysforyoutoregister.Youcansignupwithyourmobilephonenumber,orsignupviaaFacebookaccount.Youmayneedtoprovidesomeinformationaboutyourpassport.
Ifyouchoosetosignupwithaphonenumber.Enteryourmobilephonenumberandgetaconfirmationcodeviamessageservice.Thenentertheconfirmationcodetoverifyyourphonenumberandfinishregistration.
Gotothe"Me"sectionandtap"Services",tapon"Wallet"thenchoose"BankCard".EnteryourbankcardnumberandfinishtheverificationfollowingtheinstructionsofWeChat.Afterbindingyourcard,youcanuseWeChatPayinmostsituations.Asareminder,somesmallshopsormerchantsmightnotaccepttransactionsfromcreditcards.
Mastercard,Visa,AmericanExpress,JCB,DinersClub,andDiscovercardscanallbeboundwithyourWeChataccount.
InstructionsforWeChatPay
Usually,therearetwowaystopaywithWeChatPay:showyourpaymentcodetothescanningmachine,orscantheQRcodeoftheshoptoenterthepriceofyourpurchasingitemtopay.
Duetodifferentsituations,youcanchoosethecorrectwaytopay.
SimilartoWeChatPay,youcandownloadtheAlipayappintheappstoreortheofficialwebsite.ThedifferencebetweenthesetwoappsisthatWeChatisaninstantcommunicationtoolwithpaymentservice,whileAlipayisanappthatmainlyprovidespaymentservice.WeChatissimilartoWhatsApp,whileAlipayissimilartoPayPal.
SignupforyourAlipayaccountwithanemailaddressorphonenumber(nomatterifitisaChineseSIMcardornot).ThenremembertochoosetheAlipayinternationalversion.
Enteryourcardnumberandfinishalltheinformationthatisneededtofillout,thenyouwillbindyourcardtoAlipaytouseit.AlipaycanacceptaddingVisa,MasterCard,JCB,DinersClub,andDiscovercardsintoyouraccount.
InstructionsforAlipay
IfyoucannotbindyourcardwithyourAlipayaccountorinsomesmallrestaurantsandstoresthatcannotacceptinternationaltransactionsonAlipay.YoucantrytousetheTourCardservice.Thismini-programofAlipayisprovidedbytheBankofShanghai.First,youshouldsearchfortheTourCardprograminAlipay,andtaponthebutton.CompletetheverificationfieldwithyourpassportorIDnumbertoverify.ThenloadyourfundsintoyourTourPassaccount.Youcanuseitnow!
TheadvantageofusingaTourCardinAlipayisthatyoucanuseitinmoresituations,suchasashopthatcannotacceptcreditcards.BecauseyouhavealreadyboughtChineseYuaninyourTourCard.However,itwillchargea5%servicefeeforeachtop-up.
TourCardinAlipay
YoucanfindtheCurrencyExchangeofficeinmostinternationalairports,bighotels,andports.Youcanchangesomecashintheseplaces,orgotoalocalbanktomakeanexchangewithyourpassport.
Astheformerexplains,cashisnotthemainpaymentmethodinChina.However,travelersarestillusingcashtopaybecauseitisthemostconvenientway.Payingbycashismostlyasymboloftouristsorelderlypeoplewhoarenotfamiliarwithsmartdevices.
Sure,cashcanstillbeacceptedinsomesmalltownsandvillages.Youcanpreparesomecashtoavoidemergencycircumstances.However,payingbycashissometimesnotaspopularasmobilepaymentbecausethereisusuallynochangeinmostshops.
YoucanusecreditcardsanddebitcardswithlogosofUnionPay,Visa,MasterCards,andothermainbanks,topayinmajorcities.
However,debitcardsandcreditcardsarenotfrequentlyuseddirectlytopay.ChinesebindtheircardtoWeChatPayorAlipaytopay.Evensmallvendors,areproudofshowingtheirpaymentQRcodetoyouandrecommendyoutopaywithmobilepayment.
Ifyouareplanningtousecardstowithdrawcash,ATMsareeasytofindineverycityandtown.Itisnothardtofindamachinetowithdrawmoney.
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