Paying in China: Cash, Card, WeChat Pay and Alipay
China runs on QR codes. WeChat Pay and Alipay handle everything from a taxi ride to a bottle of water, and a growing number of shops, especially outside hotels and airports, no longer keep a card machine behind the counter.
Cash is still legal tender and refusing it is against the rules, but the person serving you may genuinely have no change. Sort out a payment app before you fly, and keep a few small notes as a backup.
Useful phrases
- 可以刷卡吗？Can I pay by card?
In China 刷卡 usually means a UnionPay card. Foreign Visa and Mastercard work at big hotels and airports, but far less often at street level.
- 可以用微信吗？Can I use WeChat Pay?
The default payment for almost everything here. Set it up and link a card at home, because the identity check is harder to finish with a queue behind you.
- 可以用支付宝吗？Can I use Alipay?
Alipay takes foreign cards in many setups and has a tourist version with an English interface. Either app beats fumbling with notes at a busy counter.
- 收现金吗？Do you take cash?
Refusing cash is against the rules in China, so the answer should be yes everywhere. In practice a small stall may have no change, so carry small notes.
- 扫码付款。I'll pay by scanning.
扫 is scan and 付款 is to pay. You scan the code, type the amount yourself, and show the vendor the confirmation screen.
- 可以用信用卡吗？Do you take credit cards?
信用卡 is a credit card. Ask before ordering or unpacking anything, and expect a no outside hotels, airports and large malls.
- 一共多少钱？How much is it altogether?
Ask at the counter before you tap your phone. Shelf prices are in yuan and nothing is added at the till.
- 有发票吗？Can I have a receipt?
发票 is the official tax receipt, not the printed till slip. Business travelers need it to claim expenses, and issuing it can take a few minutes.
- 可以退税吗？Can I get a tax refund?
Only at participating shops, on one day of purchases over 500 yuan, and you need your passport plus the refund form at the airport. Ask at the counter whether the shop does it.
- 请给我小票。Could I have the printed slip?
小票 is the ordinary till receipt, not the tax one. It is what you need to exchange or return something the next day.
- 微信还是支付宝？WeChat or Alipay?
You will hear this at nearly every counter. Both work the same way, so answer with whichever app has money on it.
- 没有现金。I don't have cash.
A useful line when a vendor asks for notes and you only have a phone. Point at the QR code on the counter and one usually appears.
- 可以分开付吗？Can I pay in two payments?
Handy when a card limit or an app balance falls short. Same pattern as splitting a restaurant bill — 分开 means separately.
Quick cultural tip
A phone is the wallet here
Almost everything in China is paid with a QR code, from a bowl of noodles to a taxi ride. Cash still works and refusing it is not allowed, but you may be the only person in the queue holding a note, and small shops often have no change.
Set up WeChat Pay or Alipay before you fly. Both accept foreign cards, but the verification step is easier to finish at home than on hotel wifi with a queue behind you. Once it works, you will use it twenty times a day.