Wechat wallet

[jywy2005]

I managed to open an account with ICBC in Yunnan (think it is remote enough) last week while I was on holiday there. They issued me with a debit card which I managed to link to Alipay, WeChat wallet and Didi.

You must have a local mobile number and your passport to do so. They didn’t even require a residential address.

I got my Mobile Number from China mobile. 中国移动. Just look for their 营业厅using Baidu 百度地图. They usually open until quite late.

The monthly subscription is about 30 rmb. Just topup your line 手机充值 using Alipay, so that your number will not be terminated once you fail to pay.

It’s easy to check your account balances using their respective mobile apps.

I also checked with BOC, they do not open accounts for foreigners without residential permit. Guess this applies countrywide for BOC.

Hope this helps.

 

[beanstalk6]

I managed to open an account with ICBC in Yunnan Lijiang (think it is remote enough) last week while I was on holiday there. They issued me with a debit card which I managed to link to Alipay, WeChat wallet and Didi.

You must have a local mobile number and your passport to do so. They didn’t even require a residential address.

I got my Mobile Number from China mobile. 中国移动. Just look for their 营业厅using Baidu 百度地图. They usually open until quite late.

The monthly subscription is about 30 rmb. Just topup your line 手机充值 using Alipay, so that your number will not be terminated once you fail to pay.

It’s easy to check your account balances using their respective mobile apps.

I also checked with BOC, they do not open accounts for foreigners without residential permit, even in Lijiang. Guess this applies countrywide for BOC.

Hope this helps.

Agree totally with account given above. Don't bother with BOC. Firstly, you will need a local number for SMS verification every time you make a transaction and only a Chinese identification card is accepted. ICBC allows foreigners to open accounts using passports and you can ask for the 2FA token instead so you can continue to transact while you are not in China. I checked out both banks and opened an account with ICBC last week. I shall be able to use WeChat and other digital payments the next time I visit China.

 

[seowbin]

Agree totally with account given above. Don't bother with BOC. Firstly, you will need a local number for SMS verification every time you make a transaction and only a Chinese identification card is accepted. ICBC allows foreigners to open accounts using passports and you can ask for the 2FA token instead so you can continue to transact while you are not in China. I checked out both banks and opened an account with ICBC last week. I shall be able to use WeChat and other digital payments the next time I visit China.

good for you

else if your company have china counterpart, they are good buddies with you. they can help you with a company letter to say that you work there.

i told them about this, one of the guy suddenly told me that they hold the company chop

 

[zzxxzzxx]

Opened account with BOC China.
Used my passport, and the photo ID for the site that i am working in.
They allowed, but another branch nearby don't.

So not all have same issue.....
If i access BOC China's APP, i do not need 2FA on the China's Prepaid line. I just log in using the password.

Transaction, i use Alipay or WeChat pay, linked to the bank account. Without the need of any authentication on the mobile number.

 

[Paperweight]

You meant you are in Guangzhou and cannot open an account?

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need 180days visa..

just came back from guangzhou. tried BOC , SHPD , GZFZ all same

 

[seowbin]

need 180days visa..

just came back from guangzhou. tried BOC , SHPD , GZFZ all same

Gz more cheesecake

Don't go there .

 

[madcampus]

Seems like after almost 1 year of this thread, the problem still persist. As a tourist to China, better change more cash. There is no money changer in China, only way to change is to go to their bank. And mind you queue can be long with 1 hour.


So far taxi hailing company Didi Chuxing is very good. They accept international credit card. No problem. If only Alipay and Wechat is this easy to set up.


As a occasional tourist, it make no sense to retain a China prepaid card. No sense also to setup bank account there just to visit 5 days. Unless you're a trader making frequent trips.

 

[beanstalk6]

Seems like after almost 1 year of this thread, the problem still persist. As a tourist to China, better change more cash. There is no money changer in China, only way to change is to go to their bank. And mind you queue can be long with 1 hour.

So far taxi hailing company Didi Chuxing is very good. They accept international credit card. No problem. If only Alipay and Wechat is this easy to set up.

As a occasional tourist, it make no sense to retain a China prepaid card. No sense also to setup bank account there just to visit 5 days. Unless you're a trader making frequent trips.

Agree with this post. The solution will be to bring more cash. With the success of home-grown payment platforms like UnionPay, WeChat Wallet and AliPay in China, Chinese retailers will likely drop Visa, MasterCard and Amex outside of major tourist establishments. As domestic tourists outnumber the foreign market everywhere anyway, there is simply no incentive to offer Visa/MasterCard/Amex. Off the beaten path, the only cashless sytem you will encounter are likely to be only WeChat Wallet, as even UnionPay and AliPay are not so widely accepted by common folk such as taxi drivers and shopkeepers.

Depending on your frequency of visits to China, it may or may not make sense to maintain a WeChat Wallet as in order to support it, you need a linked local mobile number and perhaps a bank account. At this moment, it costs 18RMB monthly to support a pre-paid mobile subscription. Some banks deduct a monthly fee to keep your account open.

 

[zzxxzzxx]

Agree with this post. The solution will be to bring more cash. With the success of home-grown payment platforms like UnionPay, WeChat Wallet and AliPay in China, Chinese retailers will likely drop Visa, MasterCard and Amex outside of major tourist establishments. As domestic tourists outnumber the foreign market everywhere anyway, there is simply no incentive to offer Visa/MasterCard/Amex. Off the beaten path, the only cashless sytem you will encounter are likely to be only WeChat Wallet, as even UnionPay and AliPay are not so widely accepted by common folk such as taxi drivers and shopkeepers.

Depending on your frequency of visits to China, it may or may not make sense to maintain a WeChat Wallet as in order to support it, you need a linked local mobile number and perhaps a bank account. At this moment, it costs 18RMB monthly to support a pre-paid mobile subscription. Some banks deduct a monthly fee to keep your account open.

I think it's easy to find locals to xfer money to WeChat Or Alipay to you, and you pay cash to them.

Also there's cheap prepaid plans as low as RMB 5 to RMB 10.
Having a bank account, helps if you make purchases in TaoBao.
Also having a local number is not that hard if you know where to get them.

 

[gumbokins]

Agree with this post. The solution will be to bring more cash. With the success of home-grown payment platforms like UnionPay, WeChat Wallet and AliPay in China, Chinese retailers will likely drop Visa, MasterCard and Amex outside of major tourist establishments. As domestic tourists outnumber the foreign market everywhere anyway, there is simply no incentive to offer Visa/MasterCard/Amex. Off the beaten path, the only cashless sytem you will encounter are likely to be only WeChat Wallet, as even UnionPay and AliPay are not so widely accepted by common folk such as taxi drivers and shopkeepers.

Depending on your frequency of visits to China, it may or may not make sense to maintain a WeChat Wallet as in order to support it, you need a linked local mobile number and perhaps a bank account. At this moment, it costs 18RMB monthly to support a pre-paid mobile subscription. Some banks deduct a monthly fee to keep your account open.

for my recent trip, my cc exchange rate was better than my cash: 4.6 to 4.8

 

[Weikun]

Hi, it is possible to link sg debit card to wechat. Just put your surname as your first name and english name as your last name.
Eg first name : Tan
last name: John
I managed to add my card just now hahaha but now the prob is how to put money in ...

 

[seowbin]

for my recent trip, my cc exchange rate was better than my cash: 4.6 to 4.8

it depends you change from where la. If you change in PRC bank, SG currency is like valueless . Around 1 SGD to 4.6 RMB

If you change in SG, it is around 4.8xx

If you really want to change currency there, bring HKD along. At least you won't suffer so much exchange loss.

Still the best lobang is to swap BOC card (zao bao unionpay) up to 1600 sgd, 5% rebate
I paid when statement due (currency rate could go up or down to your fav) but with the 5% rebate. It is almost 1 SGD to 5.04 RMB assuming you settle the payment in RMB (need to change RMB from money changer)

 

[alvino]

Wah. Malaysia got it before us.

https://www.fomopay.com/2018/06/29/...it-e-wallet-for-cashless-payment-in-malaysia/

 

[madcampus]

Wah. Malaysia got it before us.

https://www.fomopay.com/2018/06/29/...it-e-wallet-for-cashless-payment-in-malaysia/

Once again, no much details on how you are able to use this in China for non-china citizens. Every piece of such news is all about using it in other countries instead of their own.

 

[Kelvin0217]

Thanks for the info here and I managed to open 2 accounts in JiangXi province while on holiday. The local bank will needs Temporary Occupancy Permit while the big 4 do not need it. Passport, local mobile number and local address are required. They will also required you to fill up your Singapore income tax number.
I can use the alipay and wechat to make payment now.

 

[luei74]

bookmarked......

 

[Mergui219067]

Read it in Chinese Asiaweek .
Totally useless for Malaysians/ non-PRCs traveling to China with it too.

Wah. Malaysia got it before us.

 

[yhw22]

Yup, convenience for local but not for foreigners.

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[Kelvin0217]

Yes, you can use the hotel address since they don't check.

Hi there, for the local address, do you put the hotel address or?

 

[yhw22]

Thanks for the info here and I managed to open 2 accounts in JiangXi province while on holiday. The local bank will needs Temporary Occupancy Permit while the big 4 do not need it. Passport, local mobile number and local address are required. They will also required you to fill up your Singapore income tax number.
I can use the alipay and wechat to make payment now.

Which big 4 just need local address, mobile no and passport?

Do we need to being our Singapore income tax document?
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