Can foreigners use WeChat payment? And how? The simple answer is: yes. Not with every bank, but it’s possible. Keep reading and stop feeling jealous of your Chinese friends who conveniently order cabs with Didi Dache!
Can foreigners use WeChat payment? And how? The simple answer is: yes. Not with every bank, but it’s possible. Keep reading and stop feeling jealous of your Chinese friends who conveniently order cabs with Didi Dache!
Photo: Walkthechat/Wechat
Where to find WeChat payment?
You can access WeChat payment through the “Me”=>”My Bank Cards” tab of WeChat.
What can I do with WeChat payment?
WeChat payment offers a lot of extremely convenient functions, including for foreigners in China:
Order taxi (Didi dache)
Mobile Top Up (wonderful function, no more need to go online or buy tons of top-up cards)
e-commerce
Money transfer to other WeChat accounts
Go Dutch
Integration with Dianping to buy “groupon-style” meals
Movie ticket booking
Air ticket booking
Financial products
Lottery
Charity donations
Needless to say integrating your bank card to WeChat can simplify your life quite a bit.
Which banks can I use to register myself on WeChat payment?
Not all banks let foreigners sign-up on WeChat payment. Some of them will require a Chinese ID and you’ll get stuck in the process. Here is data as of today (21st of July 2014) for major Chinese banks:
China Merchants Bank: possible with both debit and credit cards
Agricultural Bank of China: only for credit cards
All Mastercard, Visa and JCB cards
Photo: walkthechat/Wechat
How to register a new card?
When you entered the “My Bank Cards” panel the process is very straightforward: simply select “Cards” on top top-left corner and then “add a card”.
Photo: walkthechat/Wechat