How to pay by phone in China as a foreign visitor

From setting up the app to walking away. The Chinese lines come from the shops, stalls and pharmacy in the game.

1. 1

   Before you travel: set up one app

   Install Alipay or WeChat, or both. Register with your phone number and link a bank card. The app may ask for your passport details. Make sure you will have mobile data when you land, because payments need the internet.

2. 2

   At the till: say how you will pay

   Cashiers often ask how you will pay before they say the price. 扫sáo码mǎ (scan the code) means phone. 现xiàn金jīn (cash) means cash.

   • You will hear 扫码还是现金？ (sáo mǎ hái shi xiàn jīn?) Scan the code or cash?
   • You will hear 您怎么付款？ (nín zěn me fù kuǎn?) How will you pay? (A more formal way to ask the same thing.)
   • 扫码 (sáo mǎ) Scan the code

     The short answer: you will pay by scanning.

     They may say 八块，扫这里。 (bā kuài, sǎo zhè lǐ.) 8 yuan. Scan here. (They say the price and point at the code.)
   • 扫码付款 (sáo mǎ fù kuǎn) Scan the code to pay

     The full phrase, “scan the code to pay”. Say it when nobody has asked yet, to show you are ready to pay.

3. 3

   Listen for the price

   Prices are a number plus 块kuài, the everyday word for yuan. If you scan the shop’s code, you type this number yourself, so you need to hear it right.

   • You will hear 十二块。 (shí èr kuài.) Twelve yuan.
   • You will hear 二十六块。 (èr shí liù kuài.) 26 yuan.
   • 多少钱？ (duō shao qián?) How much?

     Ask it if the cashier has not said the price, or to hear it again.

     They may say 二十五。扫这里。 (èr shí wǔ. sǎo zhè lǐ.) Twenty-five. Scan here. (In fast speech, people sometimes drop the 块kuài.)
   • 听不懂，请慢一点。 (tīng bu dǒng, qǐng màn yì diǎn.) Don't understand, please a bit slower.

     Say it if the number went past too fast. Most people repeat it more slowly.

     They may say 好的好的，我慢慢说。 (hǎo de hǎo de, wǒ màn man shuō.) OK, OK, I will say it slowly.
4. 4

   Scan the shop’s code, or show yours

   To scan: open the scanner in the app, point it at the shop’s code, type the amount and confirm. To show yours: open your payment code and hold the screen to the cashier’s reader. Not sure which? Look where the cashier points.

   • You will hear 扫这里。 (sǎo zhè lǐ.) Scan here. (They point at the code, or at their reader.)
5. 5

   Hear the payment arrive

   Many shops have a small speaker by the QR code. It reads out each payment with the shop’s name and the amount, so a busy owner knows you paid. The speaker says 元yuán, the written word for yuan, where people say 块kuài.

   • You will hear 一刻便利收款八元 (yí kè biàn lì shōu kuǎn bā yuán) Yike Mart received 8 yuan (The shop’s name, then the amount received.)
6. 6

   Take your things

   Once the payment goes through, the cashier hands over your things. A thank-you is enough.

   • You will hear 好了，拿好！ (hǎo le, ná hǎo!) Done, hold it well!
   • You will hear 拿好，慢走！ (ná hǎo, màn zǒu!) Hold it well, take care! (慢màn走zǒu (walk slowly) is how shop staff say goodbye.)
   • 谢谢 (xiè xie) Thank you

     Say it when you take your things.

The pinyin shows how the words are really said, as in the game.

These change over time. Check the current rules in the apps and with your bank before you go.

• Set it up at home

  Registering and linking a card is easier on home Wi-Fi, with your bank’s app at hand, than at a shop counter after a long flight.

• Tell your bank you are travelling

  Payments from China can trigger your bank’s fraud checks. To fix a declined payment, approve it in your bank’s app.

• Keep your phone charged

  If you pay by phone, a dead battery means you cannot buy anything. Carry a small power bank.

• Carry some cash anyway

  A few small notes help when a card is declined or the signal drops. Change some money at the airport or use a bank cash machine.

• Know where foreign cards work directly

  International hotels, airports and some big shops and restaurants take foreign cards at the counter. Small shops, stalls and taxis usually do not.

In Very Chinese Time in My Life, you pay out loud. You say how you will pay, then hold up your phone and scan.

• The breakfast stall

  The first time you pay, the owner asks 您nín怎zěn么me付fù款kuǎn (how will you pay), and you learn 扫sáo码mǎ付fù款kuǎn (pay by scanning the code). Then you say 手shǒu机jī (phone) to take out your phone and scan the code.

• The convenience store

  The cashier asks 扫sáo码mǎ还hái是shi现xiàn金jīn (scan or cash) and three other questions, all too fast. You ask her to slow down, answer each one, and scan. The speaker reads out the payment with the shop’s name.

• The fruit shop, the pharmacy and the night market

  Later in the week, you hear prices like 二èr十shí六liù块kuài (26 yuan) and 十shí二èr块kuài (12 yuan) without asking, and pay the same way.

• How to shop at a convenience store in China The four quick questions at the till (heat it up, a bag, membership, a receipt), what to answer, and paying.
• How to order breakfast at a street stall in China Point and say “this one”, answer how many, choose for here or to go, and pay by scanning the code on the counter.
• How to get a taxi or ride-hailing car from an airport in China Turning down drivers at the exit, the taxi rank or a booked car, the driver checking your number, and small talk on the way.
• Chinese for your first trip to China Ordering at a breakfast stall, asking for no chili, paying by phone, finding the metro and buying a train ticket.