Paying and Keeping Receipts in China

Short answer

Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay with your international card before you fly — both accept foreign Visa/Mastercard and others, but bank verification messages are much harder to receive once you've swapped SIMs. Carry some RMB cash as backup, and keep every receipt and VAT invoice (fapiao, 发票) — you'll need them for tax-refund claims.

Mobile payment setup (do this at home)

1. Install Alipay and WeChat from your home app store and register with your foreign phone number.
2. Bind your international card in each app (Alipay: Me → Bank Cards → Add; WeChat Pay: Me → Services/Pay → Wallet → Cards). Visa and Mastercard work most broadly; Amex and JCB support exists but varies by merchant.
3. Complete your bank's verification step (3-D Secure / SMS code) on home Wi-Fi — this is the step that fails most often after arrival.
4. Complete passport identity verification in the apps; unverified accounts face low spending caps.

Status note: card-network support, fees, and transaction limits change over time — treat the apps' latest official in-app guidance as authoritative, not any third-party article. As a rule of thumb, foreign-linked wallets work smoothly at malls, restaurants, and transit, but can fail at small stalls and person-to-person QR codes. Test with a small purchase (e.g., a bottle of water at a convenience store) on arrival.

Cash: still essential

• Merchants are legally required to accept cash in China, so RMB always works — but small vendors may not have change for large bills.
• Bring or withdraw small-denomination notes (¥10/¥20/¥50) for markets, taxis, and street food.
• ATMs at major banks accept foreign cards; airport exchange counters work but at poorer rates.

Receipts and invoices: keep everything

• For every purchase you might claim a tax refund on, get the VAT invoice (fapiao, 发票) at checkout — a plain card slip is not enough. The invoice must show the shop's name and the amounts.
• Keep paper receipts too, at least until you're home; they're your proof if an item is faulty or a refund is disputed.
• Photograph receipts as backup — thermal paper fades, and phone photos are accepted as supporting evidence in most disputes (but the original fapiao is what the tax-refund process requires).

Conditions and sources

• Mobile-payment onboarding details above reflect widely reported 2024–2026 traveler experience; exact limits and fees are not fixed facts — check the current official guidance in each app.
• The fapiao requirement for tax refunds follows the national departure-tax-refund rules; see our tax-refund guide for the full claim process.

Related shopping advice

• Ask for the fapiao at the moment of purchase — going back for it later rarely works.
• If a shop can't issue a fapiao, treat the purchase as refund-ineligible and price it accordingly.