Payments and connectivity in China: what works in 2026

Most advice written before 2024 on paying for things and getting online in China is now wrong. Alipay and WeChat Pay both accept Visa and Mastercard inside their apps. eSIMs from most overseas carriers work without a Chinese ID. This page is what we brief travellers on before they fly.

Alipay and WeChat Pay for foreign cards

The biggest practical change. Alipay folds its overseas-traveller flow into the main app, and WeChat Pay binds an overseas card in the Wallet flow. Both accept a Visa or Mastercard issued outside China. Per-transaction and daily limits apply; they have been raised twice since the 2024 policy update, and the in-app value is the authoritative one. The limits are more than enough for a two-week trip of meals, taxis, museum tickets, and souvenirs. Your specialist will confirm the current caps before you fly.

Install both apps before you fly. The download path on the Chinese mainland is slower and occasionally requires a fresh account. iPhones and Android phones issued outside China both run the apps without modification.

Inside the app, scan-to-pay is the universal pattern. You hold your phone, the vendor scans your QR. Both apps display a recent transactions list in English. There is no language barrier in normal use.

Cards, cash, and where they still matter

Credit cards work at international-brand hotels, at the airport, and at a small number of high-end restaurants that cater to overseas guests. Outside that, foreign cards are not the default rail. Use the apps.

Cash is the fallback, not the default. Hotels and airport currency desks take it reliably. Small restaurants, taxis, and convenience stores increasingly expect digital payment and may struggle to give change. Carry a small amount of cash for the first day in case an app payment fails on the first scan while the apps verify your identity.

ATMs accept overseas cards at major bank branches. Bank of China machines take Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus, and Plus. Withdrawal fees apply on both sides of the transaction; check your card's overseas withdrawal terms before flying.

Sources: Alipay overseas-traveller guide · WeChat Pay overseas card binding · Smartraveller money advice for China

Getting online: eSIMs and VPNs

The eSIM path is the easiest one. Most major carriers in Australia, the UK, the US, Canada, New Zealand and the EU support roaming or travel eSIMs that work in China; check yours before you fly. You arrive, switch the eSIM on, and have working mobile data within minutes. Plans are inexpensive and easy to top up.

A VPN is still useful, but the situation is more nuanced than the simple "install a VPN to access Google" advice from a decade ago. Travellers on an overseas eSIM are routed through international gateways, which means many sites that would be blocked on a Chinese SIM remain accessible. The VPN is the backstop if you switch to a local SIM mid-trip.

We recommend installing one trusted VPN before flying (ExpressVPN, Astrill, or NordVPN are the three we currently brief). The download flow inside China is sometimes blocked; before-you-fly is the path that always works.

Power banks and domestic flights

Since 28 June 2025, power banks without a clear 3C mark cannot be carried on domestic flights in China. The rule covers three cases: no 3C mark, a 3C mark that is not clearly legible, and any model or batch that has been recalled.

3C, printed on the casing as CCC, is China's own compulsory certification. A power bank bought outside China usually does not carry it, which is why this catches people out. Check the printed mark on your power bank before you pack it.

This applies to flights between Chinese cities. If your trip is rail only, it does not affect you.

Source: Civil Aviation Administration of China

Hotel WiFi

Hotel WiFi at the international brands we book is professional-grade, and many international sites work on it. It is also, like any hotel WiFi anywhere in the world, observable by the property's network team and, in China specifically, subject to occasional state inspection.

Practical discipline:

• Do not log into home-country banking on hotel WiFi
• Do not log into work email containing sensitive material
• The VPN handles both of the above without friction
• With the VPN on, WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage, and Gmail all work as normal

For a leisure trip, none of this changes the daily experience. It is the same care you would take at any hotel in a country with active state monitoring. In practice it comes down to one thing: install a VPN before you fly.

Sources

• Alipay (Ant Group): Overseas-traveller guide. Verified 2026-07-04.
• WeChat Pay (Tencent): Overseas card binding documentation. Verified 2026-07-04.
• Bank of China: Cards and ATM services. Verified 2026-07-04.
• Smartraveller (Australian DFAT): China travel advice, money section. Verified 2026-07-01.
• Civil Aviation Administration of China: Power banks without a 3C mark barred from domestic flights. Verified 2026-07-31.