WeChat Pay for foreigners: setup, fees and when you need it (2026)

WeChat is how people in China message each other, and its wallet, Weixin Pay (still widely called WeChat Pay), is the country’s second big way to pay. Most shops take both WeChat Pay and Alipay, so you might wonder why you need two. The short answer: some things in China only run through WeChat, and a second wallet is your backup when the first one fails.

When you need WeChat Pay, not just Alipay

• Restaurants that order by QR code. You scan a code on the table, order in a WeChat mini-program and pay there. Some of these do not work from Alipay.
• Museums and attractions whose booking pages are WeChat mini-programs.
• Keeping in touch. Guides, hotels, drivers and anyone you meet will ask for your WeChat.
• Backup. If your card is blocked in one app, the other often still works.

Alipay is usually easier to set up and has more visitor-friendly mini-programs, such as DiDi and metro codes. With both, you can pay almost anywhere.

Signing up for WeChat

1. Install WeChat and register with your own mobile number. You do not need a Chinese number.
2. WeChat will often ask an existing user to scan a code to confirm you are a real person.
3. The helper’s account must be at least six months old if it was registered in mainland China, or one month old if registered elsewhere, and they must not have helped anyone else in the past month. Send them a freshly generated code, and turn off any VPN while you sign up.

Linking a card and verifying your passport

Go to Me > Services (in some versions Pay and Services) > Wallet > Cards and add a card. Weixin Pay accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Global Network, JCB, Diners Club and UnionPay. Your bank may send a code or ask you to approve the card in its app.

WeChat will also ask you to verify your identity with your passport. Type your name exactly as in the two lines of code at the bottom of the passport photo page. Do all of this at home, on stable Wi-Fi, with your home SIM able to receive texts.

Fees and limits

• Each payment up to ¥200 has no foreign-card fee. Above that, a 3% fee applies, according to Weixin Pay’s rules published by the Beijing government.
• Tencent sometimes runs fee waivers for new card users. In May 2026 it announced a 90-day waiver of up to ¥1,000 a day. Offers like this change, so check the app.
• Foreign visitors can pay up to US$5,000 per payment and US$50,000 a year through mobile payment apps.
• With a foreign card you can pay shops, but you cannot send money to friends, send red packets or receive transfers.

Your own bank may add a foreign transaction fee on top.

Paying with WeChat

• Scan: tap + at the top right, choose Scan, point at the shop’s code, enter the amount and confirm.
• Show: open your payment code in the wallet (Money) and let the cashier scan it.

Some small vendors show a personal code meant for friends. Foreign cards cannot pay these. Show your own code instead, or pay cash, which every business must accept since 1 February 2026.

Options without a WeChat account

• TenPayGo, Tencent’s app for visitors launched on 24 September 2026, pays at Weixin Pay merchants without a WeChat account, using your card, Apple Pay or some overseas e-wallets.
• PayPal: since August 2026, US PayPal users can pay at Weixin Pay codes from the PayPal app.

These are good backups, but a full WeChat account is still what you need for chatting and for most mini-programs.

Set up Alipay as well, and read our cash and cards guide for what to carry as backup. The apps checklist lists everything to install before you fly.