Expats Life in China

””At the very beginning, you should add a bank card to your WeChat Wallet. And if you don't do that, you could only transfer or pay 200 CNY per day and recieve 3000 CNY per day.

1- Tap "Me" and find "Wallet"

2- Tap “Bank Card“

3 - Tap "Add a Card"

4 - Enter your card number and  tap “Next“

5 - Name, passport, phone number

Enter your name and phone number. It has to be the name and phone number which the bank has on file. Make sure the bank has your current number in its records.

Change the "ID Type" to "Passport" and enter your passport number.

Attention!  Not all banks support using a passport as a form of ID. If you find you can’t change the ID type to passport, you may have to change a bank account. Here’s the list of banks that support using passport as an ID:

ICBC 中国工商银行

Bank of China 中国银行

China Construction Bank 中国建设银行

Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) 中国农业银行

Bank of Communications 中国交通银行

China Merchants Bank 中国招商银行

Industrial Bank (Xingye) 中国兴业银行

Huaxia Bank 华夏银行China Everbright Bank (Guangda) 中国光大银行

6 - Enter the verification code

7 - Set a payment password

and that’s it. You are ready to use your Wechat Wallet, Gonna show you now how to top up, transfer and receive  money.

Top up and withdraw

Find "Balance" and tap "Top Up" to transfer money from your bank card to your Wechat Wallet Balance.

Input the amount of money that you wish. The daily maximum amount depends on the bank regulations.

Tap "Withdraw" to transfer the money from the balance to your bank card.

You can also transfer money to your Wechat friends , top up your phone credit, even buy train or plane tickets..... 

Now, let see how you can transfer and receive money to a strangers without being their friend in Wechat:

The new version of WeChat supports the function of receiving money from strangers. In the meantime, you could also transfer money to others by scanning the QR Code of "Receive Money". Tap the " + "  and find "Receive Money".

And for make a transfer to another person , need to just scan his QR code.

Quick Pay

Now you could use WeChat Quick Pay in more and more business. If you notice the WeChat logo near the cash register you could show the QR code and let it be scanned by the cashier to finish the payment easily and quickly.

That’s it.... for sending “HongBao“(red envelopes with money), tap “Lucky Money“ and go through the very simple interface.

Any question or suggestion , please ask in the comments section.

Hi folks! For my first six months in China, I relied almost exclusively upon IP cards. Fortunately, I later discovered a great app for Android called "Groove IP Lite". It is 100% free and you can make unlimited calls and texts to USA and Canada. It is amazing being back in constant contact with loved ones, and you only need an internet connection for your smartphone to get started! For those who use iPhones, there is an alternative to Groove IP Lite called Mo+. Unfortunately, a Gmail account is also required because this app uses a google voice number that is associated with the Gmail account.

 I have posted links to these apps below, so as to bypass any annoying ads or other inconveniences. Simply copy the file to your phone and then install the app. It is important to remember that the Google Play Store is blocked in China, so if you have a Chinese smartphone it will be difficult to install apps from Google Play. You can also download the app directly to your phone, but depending on the make of your phone and the software that is already installed, this will range from simple to impossible, Iphone users will have an easier time; just the app called Mo+ in the Apple Store and install it. It is completely free.

You can download Groove IP Lite (for Android) from "here".