Payment Options in China (2023)

FAQs

What payment methods are used in China? ›

In China, the most used include UnionPay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay. Some familiar methods, like PayPal and MasterCard and Visa also exist, but are dwarfed by domestic competitors. UnionPay is China's largest card company and national payment processor. It services all major Chinese banks.

The three most common types of payment in today's market are credit cards, debit cards, and cash. Credit and debit card transactions involve fees paid by merchants to the card companies, but they tend to involve larger purchase amounts than cash transactions.

Alipay is a payment platform developed by Chinese tech conglomerate Alibaba with roots in digital commerce (think Amazon) and hence more likely to be used for business purposes. Internet commerce requires electronic payment systems, which were integrated with credit and debit cards.

Is Paypal Available in China? Yes, in Jan 2021, PayPal finished its acquisition of a Chinese licensed payment company called GoPay. PayPal is the first foreign payment company with a domestic payment license and 100% ownership of China's payment platform.

PayPal has passed China's regulations and is one of the few digital payment platforms to be allowed in China.

Credit/Debit card payments:

The CVV helps detect fraud by comparing customer details and the CVV number. Debit cards are considered the best payment method for e-commerce transactions.

5 types of payment methods and terms. There are five major payment methods you will often see parties adopting in international trade. These are cash in advance, letter of credit, documentary collections, open account, and consignment.

There are two basic systems of wage payment—time rate system and piece rate system. Both the systems have their merits and demerits. No system can be considered suitable for all times and under all circumstances.

And under each method (say, credit cards), you have a host of options (Visa, Mastercard, and American Express, to name a few). In fact, there are more than 200 alternative payment methods worldwide.

What is the best payment method in China? ›

Over 90% of Chinese people use it and over 80% pay using it! Alipay (known locally as Zhifubao: 支付宝),with 40% of the mobile payment market, comes with a bundle of other applications that use Alipay for payment: Didi for ride calling, Taobao — the No. 1 online retail platform, etc. Over 70% of China pays using it.

Two small private Chinese banks announced last month that they would no longer provide services involving banknotes or coins, in the latest sign that the country is accelerating its march towards a totally cashless society.

The service allows users to send, receive, and store money within the US and the UK (but not internationally). Users can transfer money out of Cash App to a bank account in their country.

Credit/Debit cards are not common in Mainland China, and most Western e-payment services – such as PayPal, Square, Google Pay, and Apple Pay – are either not available to Chinese consumers or not widely adopted.

No, Zelle® can only be used to send funds to someone who has a bank account in the United States.

Venmo is currently only supported within the U.S. If you try to sign in while abroad, you'll likely get an error message.

Alipay (simplified Chinese: 支付宝; traditional Chinese: 支付寶; pinyin: zhīfùbǎo) is a third-party mobile and online payment platform, established in Hangzhou, China in February 2004 by Alibaba Group and its founder Jack Ma.

In China's current financial transfer payment system, there are three kinds of transfer payments: tax refund, categorical transfer payment, and condition payment. The proportion of tax refund since the tax reform in 1994 is continually declining while the other two kinds of payment are increasing.

Is PayPal a 4 payment? ›

Where can I shop with Pay in 4 or Pay Monthly? You can shop online with Pay in 4 of Pay Monthly just about everywhere PayPal is accepted. Some exclusions apply.

The most common payment methods are: Credit and debit card: This is one of the most commonly used and oldest payment methods worldwide.

Most merchants perceive cash as the least costly form of payment and, in comparison, find debit cards only moderately costly and credit cards the most costly.

India, which is driving the global digital economy, has already clocked about 70 billion digital payment transactions in 2022—the highest in the world. This is a sharp increase from the corresponding figure of 44 billion in 2021, according to data collation portal Statista.

The common methods to pay on Alibaba are PayPal, wire transfer (T/T) or by debit/credit card.

What is the most common payment method in China? ›

Alipay: Alipay is the top Chinese third-party mobile and online payment platform in terms of both the number of users and total transaction volume. Started by Alibaba group, Alipay was introduced as the first online digital payment solution in China in the year 2004.

Chinese residents have long relied on Tencent Holdings' WeChat Pay and Alibaba Group Holding's Alipay over cash and Beijing has been conducting a nationwide pilot scheme for digital currency known as e-yuan. So far, more than 261 million people having downloaded the wallet app since it launched last year.

China boasts the highest mobile payment usage of any market worldwide with 92% of consumers using QR-code-driven digital wallets Alipay and WeChat Pay as their primary payment method.

With the exception of Hong Kong, all users around the world are using the same version of the Alipay app. To apply for an individual account, users are required to select the region that they're currently living in and provide their contact information.

In 2013, Alipay surpassed Paypal as the world's most popular digital wallet, and still holds the top spot nearly ten years later with 1.3 billion users.

India, which is driving the global digital economy, has already clocked about 70 billion digital payment transactions in 2022—the highest in the world.

It provides bank card services and a major card scheme in mainland China. Founded on 26 March 2002, China UnionPay is an association for China's banking card industry, operating under the approval of the People's Bank of China (PBOC, central bank of China).

What is the difference between WeChat Pay and Alipay? WeChat Pay and Alipay can both be used for almost all of the same things, however, the main difference between WeChat Pay and Alipay is that WeChat Pay is an in app feature of the social media app WeChat whereas Alipay is a dedicated smart and mobile payment system.

In order to use Zelle®, the sender and recipient's bank accounts must be based in the U.S.

Is China totally cashless? ›

Two small private Chinese banks announced last month that they would no longer provide services involving banknotes or coins, in the latest sign that the country is accelerating its march towards a totally cashless society.

Cash is still more widely used in China than credit cards, especially in smaller cities and outside of more touristy areas. That said, many places in China, including hotels, upscale restaurants, and foreign brand-name stores accept credit cards, so it is worth bringing your credit card with you.

China is fast becoming one of the most cashless societies in the world, fueled by the rise of dominant fintech platforms like Tencent's WeChat Pay and Alibaba's Alipay.