What is WeChat Pay?
WeChat (Weixin) is a popular social app in China, and WeChat Pay is its built-in payment service.
WeChat Pay is one of the most widely used payment methods in China. From modern cities to remote villages, from high-end restaurants to street food vendors, from online shopping to in-store purchases, WeChat Pay is accepted almost everywhere. You can use it to pay for transportation, food delivery, tickets, and virtually any service or product in China.
This article does not cover how to register WeChat, only how to set up WeChat Pay.
How to download WeChat
You can download WeChat from the App Store or Google Play Store.
WeChat is a popular social app in China.
Download WeChat App, tap "sign up" to register with your phone number.
Where to find WeChat Pay
Tap "Me" -> "Service" -> "Wallet"
WeChat Pay supports major international payment cards including:
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Diners Club
- Discover
- JCB
If you cannot find the options above, you can activate WeChat Pay in one of the following ways.
You can tap "Me" -> "Settings" -> "General" -> "Tools" -> "Wexin Pay". Tap Enable.
Identity Verification
In Wallet, tap Add a Card. Read the WeChat Pay User Service Agreement and Privacy Policy and tap Agree.
Follow the steps on the screen to fill in your identity information. Tap Next to add your card.
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the process.
Tips: If you use your passport to verify your identity, select the ID Type as Passport, you will get a notification asking you to upload a copy of your passport.
Fees
There are 3% transaction fee for transactions above ¥200(~$28).
How to use WeChat Pay for payment
You can scan a QR code to pay or present your QR code to the merchant and pay.
How to scan a QR code to pay
After you see the merchant provide the QR code and ask for the price, open WeChat, click "+" -> "Scan" and scan the QR code provided by the merchant.
How to present your QR code to the merchant and pay
Some stores do not support scanning QR codes for payment. In this case, you can show the QR code generated by WeChat Pay to the merchant, and the merchant can complete the payment by scanning the code.
Open WeChat, click "+" -> "Money" to generate a QR code.
Sometimes your network condition may not be good, and you may not be able to scan the QR code for payment. In this case, you can show the QR code generated by WeChat Pay to the merchant, and the merchant can complete the payment by scanning the code. After a while, the network will be restored and you can receive the payment notification.