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As the article states, you need a Chinese bank account to use any of the new mobile payment methods.
by TorKlingberg 8y ago
As the article states, you need a Chinese bank account to use any of the new mobile payment methods.
- jpatokal 8y agoIt's a bit more complicated than that: you can link WeChat to some credit cards, or get money transferred to your account. However, it's difficult to impossible to do this outside China and/or without a Chinese mobile number. Here in Australia, WeChat/Alipay are starting to proliferate in Chinese shops & restaurants, but it's impossible to join either locally. No shop that I know of will reject cash, but "cash or WeChat/Alipay only" is fairly common.
- olalonde 8y agoThat's not totally accurate though. I've been using Wechat pay for months without ever linking a bank account. I can't withdraw my Wechat money to a bank account but I can spend it. I think that's precisely what banks are worried about: when more and more people decide they do not really need to link a bank account.