How can foreigners in China top up their Alipay account?

Alipay is one of the most commonly used payment apps in China. Many foreigners living in China find it quite essential to their daily life in China. But if you are new to Alipay, you often have questions such as how to register, how to top-up Alipay, when will your money arrive, and can I top up my Alipay account using international bank cards (the answer to that last point is no, by the way). In this article we will answer your questions following the most up-to-date Alipay balance top-up policies and what bank cards it supports at present.

As an expat living in China, do you also have problems finding a useful platform to send your Chinese RMB earnings back home or outside China? Wise, founded in 2011 now has 16 million happy global users and could help you out on this! The Wise English App enables foreigners in China to easily navigate and convert CNY to other currencies, and Wise handles international money transfers using only a mid-market exchange rate.

Send money home now

Can foreigners in China use Alipay?

Yes. Though it is a dominant payment platform in China and first launched in China in 2003, Alipay is now available in many countries worldwide such as Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Russia.¹

Foreigners in China can create an Alipay account using a phone number or an email address.
In future identity verification steps, you can use your passport or ID document to get approved.

Here is the China mainland version Alipay registration guide: ⁵⁺⁶

1. Go to Alipay.com: this is the address for mainland China Alipay, make sure you are on the right page, Not Alipay global, And not HK Alipay.
2. Select Personal or Business account
3. Select register methods; you can choose either:
   • Scan QR Code and download the Alipay app to register on a mobile phone
   • Register directly on a PC
4. Accept Alipay’s privacy terms and user policy
5. Select your region: if you have Chinese residency in this case, you can choose “China mainland”. If you don’t have Chinese residency yet, you can choose international regions; whichever suits you. Such as Malaysia, Singapore, USA, etc.
6. Fill in your phone number: Mainland Chinese phone default region code is +86. What if you haven’t got a Chinese phone number yet? You can still register with your current phone number, and then you can switch your Alipay phone number to a Chinese one later once you have one.
7. Verify your phone number via SMS code.
8. Now you have created an Alipay account! (But you can’t use any function until you add a payment method to your Alipay account!)
9. Keep reading, because we’ll show you how to add a bank card to your Alipay account!

At this stage, you just have an account, but you can’t use any payment function or receive money until you connect a bank card or add a payment method to your account.

For expats in China, you might wonder if you should use your Chinese phone number or your native country's phone number. To enjoy Alipay’s products and features, linking your Chinese phone number is better. First of all, it’s easier for your Alipay account to get verified, and linking a mainland Chinese bank-issued debit card to top up your account will also streamline your Alipay service in the future.
For more information about registering for Alipay account please click here.

How to top up your Alipay balance in China? A step-by-step guide

For expats topping up your Chinese Alipay account balance is quite simple, here is an easy 6 step guide with screenshot illustrations to show you how to do it.

1. Simply open your Alipay app on your phone
2. Then click ”Me” at far bottom right corner
3. Choose “Balance”
4. Click “Top Up”
5. Select an already-linked card or “Add a new bank card to top up”(Only accepts mainland Chinese debit card)
6. Click “Scan” to instantly extract your card information and auto filling.

Does Alipay support international debit/credit bank cards when topping up balance?

Can I top up my Alipay account using international credit cards?

No. According to the Alipay personal account help center,³ it doesn’t support top up using any type of credit cards in general.⁴This includes international credit cards. Because the credit card top-up business itself carries a certain amount of cash-out risk, and anti-money laundering and secure cash withdrawal has always been the common mission and responsibility of all commercial banks and also with Alipay itself, according to Alipay.

Can I top up my Alipay account(mainland Chinese version) using international debit cards?

No. At the moment users can only use mainland Chinese debit cards to top up their Alipay account.

As shown in the screenshots (taken by our freelancer who also is an expat working in China). When you top up your Alipay, it will automatically notify you what kind of banks and cards they support.

Please note: If you check the full list of banks that Alipay supports as a payment method when topping up your balance, you can see below these foreign banks are available. But if you try them out, you will get the same alert again saying “Only Chinese mainland debit cards are applicable”.

• Shinhan Bank
• DBS Bank
• Standard Chartered Bank
• Bank of East Asia
• HSBC Bank (China)
• Citibank (China)
• KEB Hana Bank
• Mastercard
• Visa

These banks are in the “add bank card” list but are not applicable for topping up Alipay and your Alipay Balance.

It’s important to know that adding a bank card to Alipay is one thing and topping up your account balance is another. Currently, when adding or linking bank cards to Alipay, it supports linking international credit cards issued outside of the Chinese mainland, such as Visa, Master, Diners, and Discover, and these cards are limited to only certain Alipay services. But to top-up your account balance, the only bank cards Alipay supports currently are mainland Chinese debit cards.

It is also advised that foreigners in China constantly update their Alipay app to the newest version to avoid bugs, and update to the newest foreigner friendly features and policies.

FAQs about topping up your Alipay account in China?

1. Can I add someone else’s bank card to my Alipay?

No. Once your Alipay account has been verified with your identity, it will only allow you to link any card that belongs to the same person. And an identity-verified Alipay account won’t be able to change to someone else’s identity. When you register for Alipay in the first place, make sure whose account you want it to be, you or your families’.

2. How many cards can I bind to Alipay?

Max 30 cards.

3. How long before the money I top up to Alipay arrives in my balance?

It instantly arrives and shows on your Alipay balance once you refresh the page as long as your bank card has sufficient money and hasn’t reached its daily transfer limits.

4. Where do I check the money I just topped up in Alipay?

Go to the Alipay app home page and click “Me”, then select “Balance”, you’ll see the figure there.

Send your earnings out of China using Wise in a cheap and easy way today!

Founded in 2011, Wise is a trustworthy international money transfer provider. It can send money to 70+ countries at a fair mid-market rate, cheaper than many providers. This way we save your money when sending money home. And using our app you can do it easily by yourself at home, no need to get a ticket and wait in the Chinese bank lobby. Not to mention our high level of English international service compared to local banks.

Pay for your transfers with Alipay

We’ve introduced an easier way for you to pay for your transfers — Alipay.

Whether you’re paying expenses in another country or sending money to family back home, you can use Alipay to pay for transfers of up to 50,000 CNY.

Unlike bank transfers, there are no minimum limits on what you can send and Alipay operates all day, every day. So you can send money at a time that suits you, not them.

How to pay with Alipay

1. Enter an amount: Select CNY as the currency you’re sending from, then enter how much and which currency you’re sending to — you can send up to 50,000 CNY per transfer.
2. Choose your recipient: This needs to be either your own account outside of China or your Wise balance.
3. Select Alipay as your payment method: If you’re on your phone, you’ll be automatically redirected to your Alipay app. If you’re using our website, you’ll be shown a QR code which you can scan from your Alipay app.
4. Confirm payment: Once you’ve paid, go back to the Wise app or website and select ‘I have paid’. Your transfer will then be on its way.

There’s more than just money transfer: There are other benefits of having a Wise account!

Open Wise account, you can have account details like Pounds, Euros, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars etc. This allows you to receive those local currencies thus avoiding the cost of converting money.

This service is provided in partnership with a licensed third party payment provider in China.