These are general steps for a visitor. They are not the rules of Alipay or WeChat. Lines marked “Check before you travel” change, and this app does not track those rules.
All Alipay WeChat Cash
A foreign card will not link Linking happens inside the app, and it also depends on your bank. A QR code will not scan Most scan failures are light, focus, or the wrong direction. The payment was declined A decline can come from your bank, from the app, or from the shop. I need cash Keep some RMB even when the apps work. Small shops and bad connections still come up. The shop only shows a QR code There is no card machine, and they may not want cash. They want to scan my phone You are showing a payment code. Treat it like a card in your hand. The text-message code never arrives The code goes to the phone number on the account. Roaming texts can be late. I paid, but the shop says they did not get it Stay at the counter until the two screens agree. I do not have the app yet Set it up before you need a taxi. There is a card machine, not a QR code A shop terminal and a phone wallet are different. General guidance written 4 Nov 2026.
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