Wechat wallet

[icycokes]

It is mentioned Youtrip card has better rate.

Yes indeed Cash is still widely accepted. Hopefully the limit on Alipay Tour Pass will be gradually increased.

Hopefully WeChat international credit card use cases can be increased gradually as well. That is what Tencent mentioned in the news release.

Yes, hopefully. With the recent advancement, I think they're working hard to get a slice of the pie. Only limitation is the regulation.

They're contented with domestic market for now.

 

[JT2008]

Other than 起点读书， have you have any other success story with the Singapore credit card?

No success with Xiami. Card not supported. But can pay by Alipay

 

[xiaofan]

No success with Xiami. Card not supported. But can pay by Alipay

Thanks for the updates. So it seems to me 起点读书 may be an exception for WeChat Pay.

In conclusion, for now it is easier to use Alipay Tourpass which works for app payment or street vendors (but not Taobao/Tmall).

RMB2000 Alipay Tourpass limit is good enough if you are using it for app payment. But certain apps may only accept WeChat Pay.

RMB2000 is also pretty useful to pay street vendors for short trips. But you need to bring some cash as well.

Wechat Pay is still useful as you can use Singapore credit to pay for certain things like Didi ride hailing, train tickets with 12306, etc. But not for street vendors or app payment in general.

 

[JT2008]

No success with Xiami. Card not supported. But can pay by Alipay

Also success with QQMusic. I think individual app need to enable accepting foreign credit card.

 

[xiaofan]

Also success with QQMusic. I think individual app need to enable accepting foreign credit card.

Good info. Thanks.

Alipay does not seem to support QQ Music payment last time I checked it.

 

[xiaofan]

Few month ago I did the following and managed receive Money.

Open Wechat, tap Discover on the bottom, search Wallet, open my wallet, select Money, select receive money, this will bring you to the ID verification process, select passport select Singapore......

after valification, your wechat now got Wallet function. you can add VISA card to it.

to receive money, log on to Wechat on Desktop computer, ask someone send money to you.

you may or may not succeful.
good luck .

Just want to point out this works based on the report in the Alipay thread. You need desktop version of WeChat.

Thank brother for the information, I just try, it really work, my wechat is able to receive the transfer fund on the PC version, no need verification, never know this can work, don’t know that there is this work around

 

[Slowdown]

I had the opportunity to use Wechat Wallet and Alipay Tour Pass in the last two months in China and I must say that Wechat is more widely accepted. I had on one occasion the taxi driver did not accept Alipay, I had to pay cash.

Between the two apps Wechat is faster making payment. Alipay take a longer time to execute the scan and pay process. It is unfortunate that I have no more balances in my wechat wallet and can no longer top up the wallet. That was why I relied on Alipay Tourpass on my second trip. The exchange rate is terrible (4.92rmb).

 

[xiaofan]

I had the opportunity to use Wechat Wallet and Alipay Tour Pass in the last two months in China and I must say that Wechat is more widely accepted. I had on one occasion the taxi driver did not accept Alipay, I had to pay cash.

Between the two apps Wechat is faster making payment. Alipay take a longer time to execute the scan and pay process. It is unfortunate that I have no more balances in my wechat wallet and can no longer top up the wallet. That was why I relied on Alipay Tourpass on my second trip. The exchange rate is terrible (4.92rmb).

Try the workaround by using PC version of WeChat to top up by asking your friends to transfer to you.

 

[hslovemoney]

I had the opportunity to use Wechat Wallet and Alipay Tour Pass in the last two months in China and I must say that Wechat is more widely accepted. I had on one occasion the taxi driver did not accept Alipay, I had to pay cash.

Between the two apps Wechat is faster making payment. Alipay take a longer time to execute the scan and pay process. It is unfortunate that I have no more balances in my wechat wallet and can no longer top up the wallet. That was why I relied on Alipay Tourpass on my second trip. The exchange rate is terrible (4.92rmb).

It's not the exchange rate is terrible. You need to use the CORRECT visa or mastercard when linked with tour pass. The RMB that you see on the Tour Pass is from the Visa or Mastercard that you link with Tour Pass. In this case, Youtrip mastercard or any equivalent visa or mastercard that has low or almost nil when come to forex charge. I used Youtrip card to link with tour pass around prior to Nov 11, i got the rate like 5.1+

 

[beanstalk6]

Between the two apps Wechat is faster making payment. Alipay take a longer time to execute the scan and pay process. It is unfortunate that I have no more balances in my wechat wallet and can no longer top up the wallet. That was why I relied on Alipay Tourpass on my second trip. The exchange rate is terrible (4.92rmb).

You misunderstood how the transactions work. In Tourpass, the credit card you associate with the top-up determines the exchange rate, not Alipay or Bank of Shanghai. I am also using YouTrip, which allows me to monitor the exchange rate by transaction almost immediately after the top-up was done.

 

[joeidle1]

I'm in China now. However I still can't add my sg credit card to WeChat. I thought it was allowed alr? Am I missing something?

 

[xiaofan]

I'm in China now. However I still can't add my sg credit card to WeChat. I thought it was allowed alr? Am I missing something?

You can but with limited usage like Didi and 12306.

You should set up Alipay Tour Pass if you want to pay street vendor.

 

[joeidle1]

Thanks! Just did and it's working for Alipay your pass!

You can but with limited usage like Didi and 12306.

You should set up Alipay Tour Pass if you want to pay street vendor.

 

[kbwang]

Wechat pay seems to accept foreign card now. I added a mastercard and able to enable it. haven't try using it in China yet.

 

[xiaofan]

Wechat pay seems to accept foreign card now. I added a mastercard and able to enable it. haven't try using it in China yet.

Anything new?

Have you tried to pay anything yet? For example pay for apps subscription like QQ Music?

Enable the wallet is simple, to top up the balance or to pay street vendor with your SF credit card is another story.

You can already pay for things like DiDi, 12306, Jingdong, etc, with your SG credit card, using Wechat Wallet, but not yet for QR code payment to street vendor.

In fact this has been working since 2018.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/beijing/zhongguancun/2019-01/09/content_37425026.htm

The recent news just expands the foreign credit cards accepted and mentioned the future move.

https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/alipay-wechat-pay-to-open-apps-to-foreigners
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"This is a great step forward, both for consumers travelling to China and the overall payment industry," Visa said. "This partnership means we'll be working towards an environment where Visa cardholders will be able to use their Visa card in China at the millions of places where WeChat Pay is accepted, instead of having to rely on cash."

The firms did not provide a time frame.
==========_

 

[akimakisato]

Foreigners are legally allowed to open an account and it usually only takes 1-2 hours to get it done. They'll issue you a bank card immediately and you can add that card to WeChat.

 

[akimakisato]

Also - WeChat Pay, which is fully integrated into the WeChat app, is popular among Chinese companies, private citizens, and small businesses. Fortunately, WeChat pay for tourists, including study abroad students, can be used to purchase items in China. Important rules!

 

[xiaofan]

Foreigners are legally allowed to open an account and it usually only takes 1-2 hours to get it done. They'll issue you a bank card immediately and you can add that card to WeChat.

Not easy for short term tourists in China. It is by luck that you can open an account if you are a short time visitor.

For long term stay, it is easy to open a bank account.

 

[SibehHL]

Try sending a RMB 1 red packet and you will know whether it works or not

Wechat pay seems to accept foreign card now. I added a mastercard and able to enable it. haven't try using it in China yet.

 

[SibehHL]

Foreigners on tourist visa can open account? Wow... you open before?

Foreigners are legally allowed to open an account and it usually only takes 1-2 hours to get it done. They'll issue you a bank card immediately and you can add that card to WeChat.