Paying for things in China
China runs on QR codes, not cards. Alipay and WeChat Pay now accept foreign Visa and Mastercard directly — set one up before you fly, because it needs SMS verification and a passport photo. Cash is still legal tender everywhere and is your fallback: 可以付现金吗？ ("Can I pay cash?").
What actually happens
This is the practical problem visitors are least prepared for, and it is not really a language problem. China skipped cards and went from cash straight to phones. A street-food stall, a temple ticket office and a taxi all expect you to scan a QR code, and a foreign Visa card is met with a shake of the head almost everywhere outside international hotels.
The situation has improved a great deal. Since 2023 both Alipay and WeChat Pay let a foreign visitor link an overseas Visa or Mastercard directly, with no Chinese bank account. Do the setup at home: it requires SMS verification to your own number, a passport photo and, sometimes, a day's wait for approval — all of which are much harder to do standing in an airport with no local SIM.
Keep cash anyway. Cash remains legal tender and refusing it is technically illegal, so it always works in the end, even if it produces a hunt for change. Carry a few hundred yuan in small notes for your first day, taxis, and the occasional stall whose scanner cannot read a foreign account. The one thing that will not save you is a stack of foreign credit cards.
What they'll say back to you
Understanding the reply is the half of the conversation phrasebooks skip. These are the lines you will actually hear in this situation — learn to recognise them, not to say them.
What to say
Paying
When it goes wrong
Cash and machines
Receipts and refunds
The bit that isn't language
Set up both Alipay and WeChat Pay before you leave, and top up a small balance in each. They fail independently — a card that one app refuses is often fine in the other — and having two working options turns a stressful dead end into a two-second retry.
Quick quiz — 5 questions
Five questions built from the phrases above: you get the English, you pick the Chinese. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that they have stuck.
How do you say this?
Common mistakes
| ✗ What visitors do | ✓ What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Arriving with only foreign credit cards | Setting up Alipay or WeChat Pay before flying | Outside international hotels, a foreign Visa card is refused almost everywhere. The app setup needs SMS to your home number, which is exactly what you may not have on arrival. |
| Carrying only ¥100 notes | Breaking them into ¥10s and ¥20s early | Small vendors genuinely may not have change for a ¥100, and the transaction simply fails. Convenience stores will break notes without complaint. |
| Assuming cash is refused because it is not accepted | Asking 可以付现金吗？ and waiting | Refusing cash is against the rules in China and a vendor will usually find a way. The head-shake is often about not having change, not about not taking it. |
Paying and mobile payment — frequently asked questions
Can foreigners use WeChat Pay and Alipay in China?
Yes. Since 2023 both apps let visitors link an overseas Visa or Mastercard directly, with no Chinese bank account required. Set it up before you travel — verification uses an SMS to your home number and a passport photo, and approval can take up to a day.
Can I use cash in China?
Yes. Cash is legal tender and vendors are not permitted to refuse it, though small stalls may struggle for change on large notes. Carry a few hundred yuan in ¥10 and ¥20 notes for your first day, taxis and anywhere a QR scanner fails.
Do Chinese shops take foreign credit cards?
Mostly not. International hotels, airport shops and some large department stores accept Visa and Mastercard; ordinary restaurants, shops, taxis and market stalls do not. Plan on mobile payment first and cash second, with the card as a hotel-only backup.
What does 扫码 (sǎomǎ) mean?
It means "scan the code" — the QR code that is the standard way to pay in China. Either you scan the merchant's code and enter the amount, or they scan the payment barcode inside your app. 可以扫码吗？(kěyǐ sǎomǎ ma) asks whether QR payment is accepted.
Next
Before you fly
Work through the whole trip in Ready for a trip to China in 30 days, play Travel Survival Sprint to make the phrases automatic, practise saying them aloud in Airport Roleplay, or look up anything else in the Chinese → Pinyin translator.