Kukamekuka:

So, I don't live in Chine, but spend quite some time here. I don't have a bank account here, which makes it very hard to use WeChat Pay.





Is there a way I can somehow put money in my WeChat Pay wallet without opening a bank account in China?





Thanks.









thespacer14:

I understand without the Work or school visa getting a bank account is next to impossible





kanada_kid:

If you spend a lot of time here when not open up an account? It takes 15 minutes. I dont understand.





moqinna:

It's a lot harder now days to open bank accounts





jamar030303:

Yeah, I tried opening an account at Bank of China in Shanghai late last year and was told at multiple branches that it has to be a residence permit with a validity period longer than 6 months or a visa with maximum stay period 6 months or longer (in other words, my 10-year visa wouldn't allow me to). They told me that it wouldn't affect the account I already had with them but I can't make any changes to it anymore.













paul2834:

Not sure if things changed, but a couple of years ago, I was able to add my US credit card to WeChat and Alipay without having a Chinese bank account. Some services will take credit card, such Taobao, MeiTuan network of apps (including delivery or to-go for food and convenient stores), Wechat's mini-app for hotels, train tickets, etc. The first two will cover a lot of your day-to-day needs just using your international credit card. Note Alipay will charge a 3% fee on top of any other fees you would normally pay for using a credit card (probably has to be international, haven't confirmed). Wechat does not.







