Set up Alipay
step by step.
For visitors using an overseas phone number, a non-Chinese passport and an international bank card. Every screen below is explained, including what success looks like and where to stop when something fails.
This guide is not for AlipayHK, another home-country wallet, a merchant integration product or the retired Tour Pass/Tour Card flow. App labels can change by version, language, region and account state.
You do not need a Chinese phone number or Chinese bank account for this visitor setup. Official Chinese guidance says foreign visitors can register with a foreign mobile number and link an eligible international card. The issuing bank still has to approve the card, and Alipay can request identity checks before the card is used.
Have these four things ready
An SMS-capable number
Use a number you control and can keep receiving security messages on. A data-only travel eSIM is not a substitute for this number.
Your valid passport
Keep the original nearby. Only photograph or scan it inside the official app when Alipay asks.
Your own bank card
Use an eligible international card you are authorized to use, with access to the issuer’s verification channel.
Independent backups
Bring the physical card, a second card if possible, and some RMB cash. A completed setup does not guarantee every payment.
You can try to complete setup before departure, which gives you time to solve SMS or issuer problems. Official visitor guides confirm the foreign-number and international-card workflow, but they do not promise that every account can finish every risk check from every overseas network. Recheck the app after arrival.
Get the correct Alipay app
- Open your phone’s official Apple App Store or Google Play.
- Search for Alipay. Use the consumer app intended for payments in mainland China.
- Do not install an APK from a travel forum, a file-sharing site or a message from a “helper.”
- Do not follow a tutorial built around Tour Pass, Tour Card, AlipayHK or Alipay Global merchant tools.
The app opens to the current Alipay onboarding or sign-in screen. You have not yet proved that the account, identity or card is ready.
Check the store listing and provider-owned links. Avoid lookalikes.
Register with your overseas phone number
- Choose Sign up, Register or the equivalent visible action.
- Select the country or region code that belongs to your number.
- If the country code is shown in its own field, do not type it a second time in the number field. Follow the example shown for your country instead of using a universal “remove the zero” rule.
- Request the SMS code. Enter it only in the official Alipay screen; Alipay support, a bank or a travel helper should not ask you to send it to them.
- Finish any password or account-security step displayed by the app. Do not record the password in a public screenshot.
If the SMS never arrives
- Confirm the selected country code and the exact number shown.
- Confirm that this SIM can receive ordinary and international service SMS. A data-only eSIM cannot.
- Check your carrier’s message filtering and roaming status.
- If the app shows a rate-limit, security or “try later” message, stop. Save the exact wording and time instead of repeatedly requesting codes.
- For app/account errors, use Alipay support. For SMS delivery or roaming blocks, contact the mobile carrier.
You can enter the Alipay account. This means registration succeeded—not that identity checks or your card are complete.
Switch to a language you can verify
There is no safe reason to publish one permanent menu path: Alipay changes navigation and offers different languages by version. Use visible labels instead.
- Open the profile or account area, commonly represented by Me or 我的.
- Look for a settings icon, Settings or 设置.
- Find Language or 语言. If the app has settings search, search those words.
- Select an available language and confirm. Some mini-programs or merchant pages may still show Chinese.
The main account and payment controls use your selected language. Keep a translation tool ready for screens outside the main app interface.
Complete passport checks only when prompted
Alipay’s international-card service terms say passport or other accepted document information may be required before first card use. Do not assume every visitor will see the same check at the same moment.
- If the app requests identity verification, choose the document type actually offered for your account—normally Passport for a non-Chinese visitor.
- Enter each name and document field according to the label and your passport. Do not invent a universal surname/given-name order when the screen already separates the fields.
- Capture the requested passport page in good light. Keep all corners visible, avoid glare, and submit it only inside the official app.
- Complete face capture, NFC reading or additional review only if the app requests it. These are conditional branches, not guaranteed steps for every account.
- Review the result. If a locked field is wrong or repeated submissions trigger a security message, stop and contact official support.
The app marks the requested identity step complete, or no longer blocks the card/payment action with that request. This still does not guarantee issuer approval.
Add an eligible international bank card
- Open the visible Bank cards, Cards, Add card or equivalent account control. Menu placement can vary.
- Enter only the fields requested on screen. Alipay’s service terms give examples such as cardholder name, card number, expiry date, security code and billing address, but the exact fields are controlled by the current flow.
- Use information that matches the card issuer’s record. Complete 3-D Secure, OTP or another issuer check if your bank sends one; it is not safe to promise that every card uses the same verification method.
- Read the final in-app terms, fee and limit notice shown for your product before confirming.
China’s 2025 visitor guide lists Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover across supported mobile-payment products. Actual Alipay eligibility is still subject to the current page prompt and issuer authorization; individual cards can be excluded.
If the card will not link
- Save the exact error without exposing card details.
- Ask the issuing bank whether it received and rejected an authorization or identity check.
- If the bank saw nothing or Alipay shows an account/risk message, contact Alipay official support.
- Stop repeated attempts when the same failure repeats or the app shows a risk/rate-limit warning. Use a different eligible card only if you are authorized to use it.
The card appears as an available funding option and no issuer-verification step remains. A visible card is not a promise that every merchant payment will succeed.
Complete only in the bank/app flow
Do not confuse registration with payment readiness
Even the fourth state is not a universal guarantee. Merchant acceptance, issuer controls, risk checks and connectivity can change from one transaction to another.
Try one small payment—and check the final state
You scan the merchant
- Open Scan and read the merchant’s payment QR.
- Enter the RMB amount only if the merchant flow requires it.
- Check the merchant name and total. Check the funding card if the app displays it.
- Approve inside Alipay, then read the final status. Do not pay again just because the cashier has not seen it yet.
PAY CODE→SCANNER
The merchant scans you
- Open the visible Pay, Pay/Receive or payment-code control.
- Keep the live code facing only the cashier’s scanner. Never share a screenshot of it.
- Check the amount and funding source when the app presents them.
- Wait for the final success, failed or pending state and compare it with the merchant’s result.
Open the transaction record and check whether the first payment is successful, failed or still pending. A delayed merchant screen is not proof that no money moved.
Payment rejected at the counter? Follow the payment-rejection recovery checklist before retrying.
Contact the side that owns the failure
Use the in-app Help Center first
Search for customer service inside the Alipay app or use the provider’s official support page. Alipay’s current public support pages list +86 571 95188; an English service line is also listed as +86 571 2688 6000. Phone availability and routing can change, so verify the number on the linked official page before calling.
“I am a foreign visitor using the mainland Alipay app. My account uses a foreign mobile number and my own internationally issued card. At [local time], the app showed [exact error] during [registration / passport verification / card linking / payment]. I stopped retrying. Please tell me which official step or document is required.”
Do not include your password, SMS code, CVV, full card number, payment code, or unmasked passport in an ordinary message.Discard these outdated or unsafe instructions
- “You must buy a Chinese SIM or open a Chinese bank account.”Not required for the foreign-number/international-card visitor flow.
- “Use Tour Pass or Tour Card.”Do not build a 2026 setup around retired temporary-card products.
- “Every visitor follows exactly these taps.”Menus and identity checks vary by app version, language and account state.
- “Keep retrying until it works.”Repeated attempts can hide the real owner and may trigger additional controls.
- “Send me your OTP/passport and I will verify it.”Never buy an account, use another identity or give security data to an unofficial helper.
Alipay setup FAQ
Can I register Alipay with a foreign phone number?
Yes. Current Chinese government guidance says overseas visitors can register Alipay with a foreign or Chinese mobile number. Use a number that can receive security messages, and keep access to it during your trip.
Do I need a Chinese phone number or Chinese bank account?
Not for the visitor setup described here. Official guidance allows a foreign mobile number and eligible international bank card. A particular card or transaction can still be rejected by the issuer, Alipay risk checks or the merchant scenario.
Can a data-only travel eSIM receive the Alipay verification code?
Usually no: a data-only eSIM has no SMS-capable phone number. Register with a separate number that can receive SMS and keep that number reachable for later security checks. Check the exact capabilities with your eSIM or mobile provider.
Do all foreign visitors have to scan a passport or complete face verification?
Do not assume one identical flow. Alipay can request passport information before first use of an international card, while document capture, face checks, NFC or manual review can depend on the account and current risk controls. Follow only the prompts shown in your app.
Which international cards can be linked to Alipay?
China’s 2025 official visitor guidance lists Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover across supported mobile-payment products. Actual eligibility is controlled by the current Alipay screen, the specific card and its issuer; a network logo alone is not a guarantee.
How do I know Alipay is ready to use?
Registration alone is not enough. Confirm that your intended card appears in the app, no required identity or issuer-verification step remains, and then try a small merchant purchase. Keep a physical card and RMB cash available because no setup guarantees every transaction.
What was checked—and what remains variable
Last reviewed 17 August 2026. Stable claims were checked against current Chinese government and Alipay materials. The workflow was also challenged independently with the same research prompt in logged-in Doubao and DeepSeek; conflicting or unsupported claims were not published. The phone screens on this page are original privacy-safe illustrations, not copied live screenshots.
- State Council — Guide to Working and Living in China (2025)Foreign/Chinese mobile registration, international-card networks, issuer verification, scan/show payment and product-level variability.
- Ministry of Culture and Tourism / PBOC — Guide to Payment Services in China (2025)Current multilingual official payment guide for visitors.
- Alipay — International bank-card service termsFields are subject to page prompts, issuer verification and passport information before first card use.
- Alipay — American Express support announcement (2025)Seven-network context and an explicit reminder that individual issued cards can be ineligible.
- Alipay — Current contact channelsOfficial support phone numbers and service windows; verify again before calling.
Scope: short-term international visitors using the mainland Alipay consumer app with a non-Chinese passport, foreign mobile number and eligible internationally issued card. App routes, available languages, identity branches, issuer checks, fees and limits remain subject to the live product screen and agreement.