Alipay, set up properly

Almost nothing in China takes cash any more, and a surprising number of places no longer take a card either. Alipay is not a convenience; it is how you buy a bottle of water. Set it up before you need it — verification can take a day, and it cannot be rushed at a checkout.

Install it before you fly

Alipay is in the Google Play Store and in most national App Stores, so you can install and register from home. Do that. Downloading Chinese apps once you have landed, on a hotel network, with no local number, is the version of this that goes wrong.

The four steps

1. 1

   Register with your own phone number

   A foreign number works. You will get an SMS code. Use the number you are actually travelling with — this number becomes the key to the account, and changing it later means re-verifying.

2. 2

   Verify your identity with your passport

   Me → Settings → Account & Security → Real-name (实名认证). You photograph the passport page and then your face. Your name has to match the passport exactly, in the same order. Most verifications clear in minutes; some sit for a day or two.

3. 3

   Add a card

   Alipay accepts foreign Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners and Discover cards directly. Me → Bank Cards → Add. The alternative, once you have a residence permit, is a Chinese bank account, which has no fees and much higher limits.

4. 4

   Test it on something small

   Buy a coffee. Doing this once, calmly, in a shop where a failure costs nothing, is worth more than reading another guide.

Foreign card or Chinese account

Paying: two directions, and people get them backwards

• You scan them. Tap Scan, point at the code on the counter, type the amount, confirm. This is how small shops, market stalls and street food work.
• They scan you. Tap Pay/Receive and hold up the barcode. This is how supermarkets and chains work — the cashier's gun reads your screen.
• Your payment code refreshes every minute. If the till says it has expired, close and reopen the screen; do not screenshot it.

When a payment is refused

1. 1

   Your own bank blocked it

   The commonest cause by a distance. A first charge from China looks like fraud to a European or American bank. Tell your bank you are travelling before you leave, and expect to confirm one transaction by app or phone.

2. 2

   Verification is not finished

   An unverified account can hold a card but cannot spend much. Check Me → Settings → Account & Security.

3. 3

   The name does not match

   Middle names, transliterations and reversed given/family names all fail. It has to read exactly as the passport does.

4. 4

   You hit a limit

   Foreign cards have caps. The message names which one you reached; if it is the annual cap, only a Chinese account fixes it.

The mini-programs worth pinning

• Transit QR乘车码

  Metro and bus entry in most cities, without a separate card.

• HelloBike哈啰出行

  Shared bikes, usually deposit-free through Alipay.

• Didi滴滴出行

  Taxis and ride-hailing.

• Ele.me饿了么

  Food delivery.

• 12306铁路12306

  Intercity trains, booked against your passport.