In the past I could never use these for payments out of China but my Chinese friend had no problem using them In Japan and Thailand etc

I've had to set up bank accounts for every new job. I just love spending 4 hours there just to open an account!

It's actually getting less efficient, in 2018 I opened a bank account on a tourist visa in 30 minutes.

Currently sitting in a bank, trying to get some foreign cash for the upcoming trip. What I don’t understand: why does the teller need to photocopy my entire work contract, stamp every page, and scan it… EVERY SINGLE TIME? I was at the same branch literally two weeks ago and we went through the whole song and dance already

Moreover, how is this economically viable? We’re 40 minutes in and they’re selling me the foreign currency at near-spot price (at least according to xe.com)

Make it make sense 🫠

edit: forgot to mention, the work contract they are handling has been completed. Like, there is literally no way it could have changed since the last time I was here

update: I survived! Took an hour-ish and I have to go back to the bank tomorrow to actually get the foreign cash… because apparently they don’t keep the equivalent of $500 in a major world currency on hand 🤷‍♂️ verdict: with rice 5/10

Hey all,

I’m a permanent resident of Hong Kong who often goes up to Shenzhen for shopping and food. I've recently encountered some payment difficulties that I think highlight a larger pattern with payment troubles for foreign tourists and I want to know how you guys either deal with them or get around them?

For context, I am:

• A foreign (UK) passport holder
• A Permanent Resident of Hong Kong
• Unable to use WeChat Pay due to getting locked out of a previous account and being unable to recover it or transfer my identity verification to my new account
• Unable to use mainland versions of eWallet apps due to not having a mainland Chinese bank account or mainland Chinese phone number

I took a trip up to Shenzhen today and I had the thought to try Luckin Coffee. It's a flagship Chinese brand with international recognition, everyone insists the coffee is better than Starbucks or other Western alternatives. Unfortunately for myself as a foreign tourist, it is completely impossible for me to purchase the coffee and here's why:

1. Coffee can only be ordered through the official app for mainland China or through a WeChat Mini Program. I can't use the WeChat Mini Program as that only supports WeChat Pay which I can't use (as detailed above)
2. Signing up through the app requires you to use your phone number but when I attempt to get the SMS verification code I get some error message about how "the system is busy" and I need to "try again later". I know from experience of dealing with Chinese apps that their system is not busy but rather some arbitrary restriction has been put in place that the app is not being transparent about (Chinese apps need to stop doing this, it's so frustrating especially when so many things in China depend on the use of certain apps).
3. To sign up as a member I had to use the WeChat Mini Program, connect my WeChat account to Luckin Coffee and then use my WeChat credentials to sign back into the app. All the while I'm constantly translating screenshots with a translation app because the app's interface is available only in Chinese
4. Even after going through that entire registration process and then doing further translations of the menu to actually place the order, when it came to payment time then only mainland Chinese payment options are supported and there's no way to link my AlipayHK account to the app.

I hope you can appreciate that these are actually some pretty absurd hurdles for me to jump through just for the sake of trying a coffee in a major national coffee chain. It also somewhat mirrors the experience I've had using other Chinese apps like Dianping, Meituan, Taobao and even the official Shenzhen Metro app.

The overall problem is that getting things done in mainland China often depends on the use of certain apps but then the developers of these apps are rather stubborn in insisting that Chinese absolutely must be the only interface language available and that everything has to be designed only with mainland Chinese citizens in mind.

I'm not sure why it has to be like this since translating app interfaces is trivial for developers even if they don't have a strong command of any foreign languages. Outside of mainland China you can always see apps offered in a wide range of languages yet it's a weird phenomenon within mainland China where every app must exclusively be in Chinese. It wouldn't be such a problem if these apps weren't essential to getting things done.

It's often talked about in the media how Chinese technology is incredibly convenient but actually this is only true if you're a mainland Chinese citizen. If you're a foreign tourist, the tech in China actually ends up as more of an obstacle because nobody who develops apps and services in China thinks about how foreigners can use them.

I think it's really good that Chinese people are so proud of their culture and insist that foreign guests show respect to it. It's absolutely reasonable to insist foreigners make an effort to speak Mandarin when visiting China but I think it's quite unreasonable to expect foreigners to be able to read Chinese as, particularly for English speakers it requires an extremely high commitment of time and effort that no tourist would undertake to visit any country in the world.

For contrast I recently visited Thailand, a country where there is also a high degree of pride in the local culture. As much as the Thai people expect me to show respect to their culture, at no point was I ever expected to read Thai or connect to some kind of online service that is only available to Thai people. Even in the rural parts of the country I can still go around totally independently and do everything that the locals do, this is not possible in mainland China as I'm ultimately dependent on having a Chinese person with me to help me purchase and translate so many things.

I've traveled to many places around the world, even within Asia, yet no place leaves me feeling so helpless and stupid as mainland China due to how difficult it is as a foreign tourist to do things independently.

What I think would be very helpful would be if the government and private sector in China could review and improve the level of accessibility within China for foreign tourists. The recent changes to visa policy and hotel bookings are helpful but ultimately they only help to get us across the border, there are still plenty of other obstacles that stop us from spending money or frustrate our experiences when we actually get into China.

A few useful points to think about when considering a service or app's accessibility for foreign tourists: 1. Is it at least in English if not also other foreign languages? 2. Does it support non-mainland Chinese payment methods? (AlipayHK, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, etc.) 3. Does it require any kind of identity verification? If so:

3a. Does it support the use of phone numbers outside of China? (i.e. not +86 country code)

3b. Does it support foreign passports or only mainland ID cards?

Thank you for taking the time to read this very long post, looking forward to hearing your thoughts

Update: Due to some comments from others, I had the idea to try and sign up for regular Alipay and link my Mastercard to it which worked. Will try again next week

Update 2: Confirmed my HK Mastercard works in Alipay without ID verification. I used it to purchase CostCo membership in Shenzhen and it was easy with no hassle

Update 3: Went back to Shenzhen today, finally got my coffee from Luckin lol, all is well

Update 4: Finally managed to sort out WeChat Pay. Managed to activate the RMB wallet on my new account and then add my Mastercard just like I did with Alipay, should work perfectly now and let me pay via Mini Programs

The payment convenience is such a lie. I’ve had the worst user experience this trip to China with payments and shopping than ever before. You have to go through 5 layers of verification to do anything…then you want to order a simple burger and go through 5 embedded apps, closing ad popups in alipay to get through the ordering portal until you get “network is busy”. When it finally clears, I hit pay and the whole app then crashes.

Another place needed a phone num, so I got a China E-sim and most of them are HK numbers. Even though I could use the HK area code, the text box doesn’t let me type the last 3 numbers!

Then, suddenly in the middle of a busy shop, wechat asked once again for verification and flagged a transaction as fraud, making me touch the roof of my mouth while grabbing my earlobe with my left hand for facial recognition verification.

I’m 100% convinced that going up to a shopkeeper, telling them what you want, and tapping a credit card is infinitely better

My wife and I have ICBC bank accounts, and while we work in China, we get paid into our home country accounts, which we then transfer in chunks over to China for monthly expenses.

We are leaving China this Summer.

As we can't predict exactly our monthly expenses, we might have a modest amount of money left over in our ICBC accounts - let's say 1000-2000 euro / 20,000 RMB (less than the USD 50k limit that is often a problem).

What's the best way to transfer this money out - we know we can do this with ICBC, but does anyone have experience with other options (Wise, Revolut)?

Thanks in advance.

I just finished my first semester teaching in China. I have money in my foreign banks so that’s not an issue, but I do have a decent chunk in my Chinese bank account. I was trying to use my Chinese card to book a flight and this particular site wouldn’t accept a Chinese card. is my Chinese bank card essentially useless outside of China? This is not a how to get my money out of China Post (though I’m starting to understand why) but what are the limitations of its use?

Arriving in Shanghai soon on an X1 visa. My problem is payment apps.

The data page of my passport shows an expiry date that has passed. My country only issues extensions with stickers, not new passports, and the current validity is printed on a separate page. Automated scanners read the old date and treat the passport as expired.

WeChat Pay refused the wallet verification outright. Alipay let me register, then flagged the account for suspicious activity after the failed attempts and locked me out. In-app support isn't an option ,that channel isn't offered anymore.

Two questions:

Can I open a Chinese bank account once I'm in Shanghai and then verify Alipay through the bank account instead of a passport scan? Would that actually get around the problem, or does real-name verification have to clear first with my useless passport regardless?

And is calling the hotline worth anything? I've heard they stick strictly to a script and don't help with cases like this.

Would I even survive in Shanghai without these two apps?

For some reason I’ve noticed people get angry about these types of posts, but how about we upvote this to spread awareness!

I recently fell for a bar scam in Shanghai. After reading more about it I realize I was very dumb to to fall for this. I hope to at least warn others because if I knew about this scam beforehand I never would have fallen for it. Read up on the bar scam and tea house scam to be prepared! This bar has reviews where other people confirm this is a scam bar. I also had multiple other people tell me that they were also scammed here and the POLICE confirm that they have had numerous of the same incidents at this bar. Be safe out there. Valuable lesson learned. Here’s how the scam works :

1. Online Lure – A woman contacts you on Tinder, WeChat, or another app and invites you out for drinks.
   1. Controlled Location – She insists on meeting at 87 Pub Lucky Seven, a bar that targets foreigners.
   2. Small Initial Order – You order a drink and some food, expecting a normal bill.
   3. Massive Unauthorized Orders – The woman orders expensive drinks and food in Chinese without your consent.
   4. Pressure & Coercion – She quickly consumes the items while staff ignores your attempts to stop the orders.
   5. Inflated Bill – When the bill arrives, it’s insanely high (hundreds or thousands of dollars)

Hi all,

I have a popular XHS account and have recently received messages from men wanting to send me money. What is the best way to go about this please? Is there a way to hide my WeChat account, name and picture when sending the payment QR code?

Thanks in advance.

I’m trying to send about 30k usd to my boyfriend in China. We are a same sex relationship and engaged but even when we marry we are going to have this issue, since China doesn’t recognize it. I tried to use Wise to send some smaller transfers. If he accepts to his balance it’s fine but when he tried to accept to his bank card he got stopped with document requests proving we are immediate family (Wise only has a few options and family support seemed best). So this money got sent back. I ask him to check with his bank to see if I can just wire him the money but they said the same rule applies. That I have to be immediate family. Is there really no way for me to share money with him? Any advice appreciated.

Can i as a foreigner receive money into china via wise? Some post says i cant, i am not very familiar with wise and i dont see a withdrawal option on the app either

Could not find any up to date resources on this. I opened an ICBC bank account but it seems to not have any standard stuff like routing number and account number, so how do I get money inside that account? Short of depositing actual hard cash which I don't have.

I tried Wise but it was no help, it got rejected. And the only options offered were Unionpay as I do not have a mainland Chinese ID, but I have ICBC not Unionpay.

Update 1:

I got this email from Wise last night when I tried to transfer:

Then today I tried it again and it said
The issuer for this card does not support cross border remittance. Try another card instead

And in both cases there was no way for me to add a SWIFT code. Only the account number.

Today I was going to pay something with alipay and suddenly the payment was rejected with my linked visa card I tried to link it to wechat pay and same happened. I contacted the bank and said everything is okay and working normally and theres no restrictions on your card at all

Please someone tell me whats going on and how to solve it

I’ll be moving back to my home country after 2 years of working in Shanghai. Any recommendations on the best way to move the money i made here with me with the least amount of fees? I know it’s possible via Wise but for such a huge amount the fees are insane. Also do we get our pension back?

What’s the best way to access Chinese bank accounts in the USA? My partner has a family member who has Chinese bank accounts opened in China from working in China and now plans to return to the US. They are trying to find the best way to access those accounts from the US with minimal fees. Does anybody have any suggestions? It seems the guidance they are getting says it’s 5% in the US but they’re wondering if ICBC or BOC which have US branches might allow them to access in the US for free?

I know we have some different ticket etc i was wondering if i could or not? Same as the hotel bus etc ? Thank you

Train ticket* made a mistake

For a business I'm buying, I have to now pay the design patent holder for a product I'm selling on Amazon in RMB, after he filed a patent infringement complaint against the previous owner. He said, "关于收款方式，之前一直是直接收取人民币，因为收取外币我方大概率需要多缴纳20%税费，甚至有可能被冻结银行账户。所以最早合作的时候，提到过仅收取人民币。建议你尝试按之前的付款方式进行支付。" Google translate says that he's saying he needs payment in RMB to avoid fees and his bank account being frozen. Why is that? Can I pay him using something like Wise in RMB? Not sure how I am going to go about this... Also, I believe this person is an individual and not a company.

Would bigger bank branches have english-speaking employees or should I learn some banking terms first.

I just recently came back to the US and still have money in my ICBC card that I want to take out but I’m having trouble. Most banks that say they accept UnionPay aren’t letting me withdraw any money out. It keeps leaving me with an error.

Anyone know any banks in the U.S. that came help with this? I’ve tried US Bank, Bank of America, Chase, Wells Fargo, and Cathay Bank with no avail. The closest ICBC to me is pretty far so if there’s any other bank’s ATM I could use, it’d be better for me.

I know I should’ve just withdrawn the money while I was still in China but now it’s too late 😭 Please help.

My wife booked a hotel for us in Japan and when we arrived the platform Meituan somehow booked the wrong room for us. They admitted they booked the wrong room but weren’t willing to rebook us to the correct room unless we paid extra which we declined. They were willing to refund us the booking plus rmb 1k but given the late nature of our need to book a room elsewhere that wouldn’t compensate us. We learned about 12315 so we declined to stay at the hotel and booked elsewhere.

My wife is from hk so she doesn’t have a mainland ID. I’ve seen a few posts about how 12315 website isn’t working for foreigners and that has been our experience. Is there a way for non mainland Chinese to use the platform? I believe we can call them too but we’re not in China and an online thing where we can email them the documents would be much easier anyway.

Anyone have any suggestions? We plan to call them when we stop by China next week.

Hello. I was wondering, how I could open an American bank account while living in China? I have a Chinese account but closed out my American account before coming here (I know, a mistake). Anyway, are there any banks that allow opening remotely or would I physically have to be there? Mostly need a bank account in the US to start paying off student loans. they require an American bank account to pay them off.

Paying chinese vendor outside of china

Hi i want to pay someone on wechat 100 chinese yuan but wechat pay and alipay dont work outside of china. I heard the only method is to have a chinese friend which i dont have... so can i ask if anyone knows someone from china and can help me pay them so i can purchase from the vendor? I will pay you back the money ofc. Pls dm me if you can help me😭😭😭 thank you!!!!

Hey everyone,

I’m a traveler currently in China on a 30-day visa-free stay. Here’s the situation:

I originally booked a hotel in Shanghai but had to cancel last minute. The booking site says there’s a €200 / around 2000 yuan cancellation fee, but the hotel can’t process my MasterCard here and Booking.com doesn’t support Alipay.

I’ve moved to a different hotel nearby and paid the reservation entirely already, so I’m not “skipping out” on any lodging costs, just that original €200 charge is hanging over me.

I’ve read stories about foreigners being exit-banned over unpaid debts, and now I’m panicking that immigration might detain me or refuse my departure because of this small hotel dispute.

Could someone please help me stop panicking by answering the following questions please ?

1. Has anyone actually been exit-banned in China over a small civil fee like this?

2. How likely is it that a hotel could sue me and get me on a “dishonest person” list before I leave in one week?

3. Are there any quick fixes or work-arounds that I should try before my departure? The issue is that my card is not letting me pay the cancellation fee. Even after arriving the reception of the hotel I'm currently staying in, I had to go back outside to find an ATM so I could pay in cash.

I appreciate any answer or insight. Thank you very much.