Wechat wallet

[absolut777]

Was in china some months back and only added the virtual card to both alipay and wechat and did not have a problem using both platforms. Wechat no longer accepts virtual card?y experience was

Hmm interesting. Well it may have changed since the last time I used.

Happy problem I guess.

 

[jase07]

I used apec card to enter recently and got only 30 days visa

ok that's new. Did they stamp the 30 days on your passport or write? Cause i entered recently, they never say anything and also never stamp or write the duration i am allowed to stay. Maybe different city different style.

 

[jase07]

APEC card can suka suka apply one meh?

not say suka suka, but it's not difficult if you have a real need for it.

 

[highsulphur]

ok that's new. Did they stamp the 30 days on your passport or write? Cause i entered recently, they never say anything and also never stamp or write the duration i am allowed to stay. Maybe different city different style.

Stamp 30 days. Entry was Hangzhou

 

[hfngshnll]

I am here in China since Oct 15 , cash is still accepted .

In fact when i take the public bus service I prefer to use cash ( rmb 1 fixed for the city i
am in).

I also noticed that sometimes even the locals got "glitches" when paying with Wechat or Alipay due to signal issues on public buses .

2 months ago when i was there, saw their govt ads campaign on tv, selling a softer, more human-centered image about everyday payment and services. ads showed seniors POV about preferring to pay in cash rather than using phone payment, choosing to pickup goods in person at door step rather than some high tech advanced IT solutions that need to interact with IT interfaces and links, choosing to go to bank in person than using phone bank apps. lol.

in the lower tier areas, i saw street banner and posters barking it is illegal to reject cash payments.

i think because during covid lockdown periods, many sufferings and even tragedies for old people who where IT illiterate or less tech savvy or no phones. another impetus is the pervasive scams and frauds faced by the older generations using phones.

post-covid, a lot of new policies and changes and announcements emphasized catering to the needs of old people and foreign tourists.

but china is such a huge and vast country, YMMV.

 

[16/8IF]

2 months ago when i was there, saw their govt ads campaign on tv, selling a softer, more human-centered image about everyday payment and services. ads showed seniors POV about preferring to pay in cash rather than using phone payment, choosing to pickup goods in person at door step rather than some high tech advanced IT solutions that need to interact with IT interfaces and links, choosing to go to bank in person than using phone bank apps. lol.

in the lower tier areas, i saw street banner and posters barking it is illegal to reject cash payments.

i think because during covid lockdown periods, many sufferings and even tragedies for old people who where IT illiterate or less tech savvy or no phones. another impetus is the pervasive scams and frauds faced by the older generations using phones.

post-covid, a lot of new policies and changes and announcements emphasized catering to the needs of old people and foreign tourists.

but china is such a huge and vast country, YMMV.

You are right , China is a vast country so one person experience in a particular city is different from others .

Never saw any Gov ads on those you mentioned , but indeed there are various kind of scam, that is why I don't use unknown third party website to topup my wechat or alipay account .


I have used their 美团(they are efficient) and also patronised their restaurants and supermarket , no different from SG where you can use grabfood or visit the hawker center yourself ,

it is a choice that ones make whether you are in China or SG or any other countries it is the same .

Personally I used cash as well as phone payment and so haven't met with any problem .
I try to avoid going to bank in person as far as possible so anything that can be done on the apps definitely will be my first choice .( it is same in SG).

Personally I like their online shopping be it taobao or douyin , return and refund is very easy , you just generate a return code , write it on the bag( any plastic bag );
just place it outside the door and they will come and collect .

Unlike in SG especially with Ninja Van collection can't be in black plastic etc etc

All in , there is no Big difference whether you are in China or SG or any other countries you just adapt accordingly and enjoy your time no need to make things complicated .

 

[xiaofan]

in the lower tier areas, i saw street banner and posters barking it is illegal to reject cash payments.

I saw this as well in December 2023.

 

[froztheart]

You are right , China is a vast country so one person experience in a particular city is different from others .

Never saw any Gov ads on those you mentioned , but indeed there are various kind of scam, that is why I don't use unknown third party website to topup my wechat or alipay account .


I have used their 美团(they are efficient) and also patronised their restaurants and supermarket , no different from SG where you can use grabfood or visit the hawker center yourself ,

it is a choice that ones make whether you are in China or SG or any other countries it is the same .

Personally I used cash as well as phone payment and so haven't met with any problem .
I try to avoid going to bank in person as far as possible so anything that can be done on the apps definitely will be my first choice .( it is same in SG).

Personally I like their online shopping be it taobao or douyin , return and refund is very easy , you just generate a return code , write it on the bag( any plastic bag );
just place it outside the door and they will come and collect .

Unlike in SG especially with Ninja Van collection can't be in black plastic etc etc

All in , there is no Big difference whether you are in China or SG or any other countries you just adapt accordingly and enjoy your time no need to make things complicated .

Totally agreed, adaptability is the crux for a smooth stay in anywhere.
And as always, there's pros and cons, moreover in a huge country like China where my personal opinion is that it isn't easy to manage.

 

[froztheart]

Anyways, since we're on the topic of scams at this moment, just sharing so others do not fall for this.

NOBODY SHOULD BE CONTACTING YOU WITHOUT YOUR INITIATION FOR ANY ACCOUNT ISSUES ETC.

https://www.police.gov.sg/media-room/news/20241111_police_advisory_on_impersonation_scam_variation

"In this scam variant, victims would receive unsolicited phone calls from a scammer impersonating staff of Chinese companies such as Tencent, WeChat or UnionPay. The scammer would typically inform victims that a subscription which they had previously signed up for (e.g. insurance coverage, WeChat anti-harassment application, WeChat subscription), is about to expire.

The scammer would then tell the victims that the fees would be automatically deducted from their bank accounts linked to the platform unless the victims cancelled the subscriptions. To do so, victims would have to verify their identities and bank accounts, by providing their personal information and making monetary transfers to various bank accounts. The victims were assured that their monies would be refunded upon successful verification. In some of the cases, the scammer would guide the victim through WhatsApp’s screen sharing function to increase the bank transaction limit and perform the bank transfers. Unbeknown to the victims, a WhatsApp screen sharing function allows scammers to view their banking ID, password and OTP. Members of public should be wary of sharing the screen of their devices with anyone that they do not know."

 

[noangel7]

Can I check with those who have China Bank Account:

what phone number did you link to it? SG or China?

I was able to put SG but facing problems using the bank app (ICBC) and also not able to add the card to my wechat pay

Not sure what step I'm missing in the process.
I even went to a 2nd bank branch (in a different city) while I was there to double check... but still cannot

 

[HoGnix]

Can I check with those who have China Bank Account:

what phone number did you link to it? SG or China?

I was able to put SG but facing problems using the bank app (ICBC) and also not able to add the card to my wechat pay

Not sure what step I'm missing in the process.
I even went to a 2nd bank branch (in a different city) while I was there to double check... but still cannot

The Phone Number is for China Bank Account or your Wechat Account?

Uaually China Bank Account has to link China Tel Number for the Banking App Access, because the banking App used China Phone number as User name to login in by default.

 

[iceoxfch]

Can I check with those who have China Bank Account:

what phone number did you link to it? SG or China?

Never knew ICBC China accepted Singapore phone numbers for OTP.

Overseas numbers are likely unsupported for card validations.

 

[HoGnix]

Never knew ICBC China accepted Singapore phone numbers for OTP.

Overseas numbers are likely unsupported for card validations.

I once asked one China Bank whether I can Open Account with Singapore Phone Number, they say can.
but I will likely cannot receive OPT send by Bank (because the Bank SMS system is configured with default China Number without international Perfix). So such Bank account is almost useless without online access/ transactions which need SMS to authorise.

 

[noangel7]

Thanks for the replies.

I registered SG number with both Wechat Account AND ICBC China Account.

Their system was able to accept... so I added the China number as secondary number but SG as Primary.

 

[noangel7]

I once asked one China Bank whether I can Open Account with Singapore Phone Number, they say can.
but I will likely cannot receive OPT send by Bank (because the Bank SMS system is configured with default China Number without international Perfix). So such Bank account is almost useless without online transactions which need SMS to authorise.

Oh! I didn't know this...

 

[iceoxfch]

You'll eventually need a China number to answer calls from customer service and couriers.

It's unnecessary if you only need Alipay, WeChat Pay, Taobao, JD, PDD, Didi, HelloBike, Meituan and 12306.

 

[froztheart]

Can I check with those who have China Bank Account:

what phone number did you link to it? SG or China?

I was able to put SG but facing problems using the bank app (ICBC) and also not able to add the card to my wechat pay

Not sure what step I'm missing in the process.
I even went to a 2nd bank branch (in a different city) while I was there to double check... but still cannot

China bank uses China number, you are not able to use non-CN number to verify/login.
Thus, the banks always require China mobile number ownership verification.

And you require CN mobile number to verify OTP, receive account information/updates, contact CS etc.

 

[seowbin]

You'll eventually need a China number to answer calls from customer service and couriers.

It's unnecessary if you only need Alipay, WeChat Pay, Taobao, JD, PDD, Didi, HelloBike, Meituan and 12306.

Don't think you need that.

Courier only if you are in china, sending to hotel or something else. Other than that, just leave the freight forwarder's number

I never answered any other call. Most are marketing calls. So far the only true usage is for otp when signing up china's app.

 

[iceoxfch]

Don't think you need that.

Courier only if you are in china, sending to hotel or something else. Other than that, just leave the freight forwarder's number

I never answered any other call. Most are marketing calls. So far the only true usage is for otp when signing up china's app.

I needed it while settling complex issues with Taobao and Alipay customer service. The China number was incredibly helpful for me. Of course, this comes at a cost. Everyone's use case differs.

 

[seowbin]

I needed it while settling complex issues with Taobao and Alipay customer service. The China number was incredibly helpful for me. Of course, this comes at a cost. Everyone's use case differs.

So far, they called my SG number.