How reliable are WeChat Pay and Alipay with foreign cards now?

TapToPayEthan

I have read plenty of travel reports saying mobile payments in China are much easier for visitors now, but the details still sound inconsistent. Some people say their Visa card worked almost everywhere, while others say they kept hitting merchant limits or ID verification prompts.

If you visited recently, how reliable was your setup in real life for taxis, convenience stores, train tickets, and food delivery? I am trying to decide how much cash backup I should still carry.

QRScanMila

For in-person payments mine worked surprisingly well in Beijing and Hangzhou. Convenience stores, chain cafes, and DiDi were mostly fine once both apps were fully verified with passport details.

CashBackupBen

I would still carry some cash and a second card. The failures were not constant, but when they happened it was always at the worst moment, like trying to buy train snacks or pay a small restaurant bill.

MetroGateIvy

The biggest difference for me was online services versus face-to-face payments. Food delivery and a few mini-program purchases were much more likely to complain than scanning a merchant QR code in person.

ReceiptCloud

Set everything up before the flight if possible, including test-verifying the card, because SMS and identity checks are much more annoying once you are already moving around China.