Why can I pay shops but not send money to a friend?

At a glance

• Alipay-linked international cards support mainland merchant purchases, but exclude person-to-person transfers and red packets. [1]
• Weixin Pay’s international-card guidance also separates everyday purchases from transfers and red packets. [2]
• Alipay’s merchant routes are Scan and Pay/Receive; WeChat’s guide shows + → Scan or + → Money. [3]
• A physical bank card needs a compatible merchant terminal; look for its card-network logo or ask the cashier. [3]

What to do next

1. Ask what the recipient needs: payment for a business purchase or money sent to their personal account. A restaurant bill, a guide’s deposit and repaying a friend may look similar in a chat, but the checkout route determines whether your linked foreign card can fund it.
2. For a shop or restaurant, ask for the business payment code or a cashier who can scan your payment code. Check the recipient and amount before approval. If the app shows a transfer flow instead, return to the cashier and ask for the merchant checkout.
3. For a shared meal, ask the restaurant whether each person can pay their own part directly. Agree the amounts before starting so that the cashier knows which payments make up the bill. Keep each completed transaction until the restaurant confirms the total.
4. If your friend already paid, choose a method you both actually use. Cash is straightforward when you are together. For an overseas bank transfer or another wallet, agree the currency, fees and recipient details before sending money.
5. For a business deposit, obtain the provider’s name, service date, amount and cancellation terms in writing. Request its merchant checkout or established booking platform. Keep the confirmation together with the payment receipt so the deposit can be matched to the booking.
6. If the only offered route is a personal transfer you cannot fund, tell the recipient immediately. Agree cash on arrival, another supported method or a different booking arrangement before you travel to meet them.

If your situation is different

The recipient says their code always works: explain that your account uses an overseas card and cannot fund this transfer. Ask them to open their merchant collection route if they have one. Do not keep changing the amount of the same personal-transfer request.

A small business uses the owner’s name: a name alone is not enough to classify the checkout. Look at the transaction screen and ask how the payment is being collected. Request a business purchase route instead of inferring capability from the size of the shop or the colour of its QR sticker.

You have completed passport verification: keep that completed setup. Identity verification does not itself turn a foreign bank card into a funding source for every wallet feature. Resolve the requested payment type rather than starting the passport process again.

You have another wallet: ask which merchant payment methods the recipient accepts, then use a supported business checkout. Do not assume that installing WeChat converts a personal Alipay transfer into a card-funded payment.

Common mistakes

• Using Send money or a red packet to test Alipay before a trip: neither tests a normal linked-card shop purchase.
• Borrowing somebody else’s Chinese bank card or identity: keep accounts and payment credentials in their owner’s name and agree another settlement method.
• Paying an unrelated intermediary to forward the money: arrange payment directly with your friend or the actual business, with a clear receipt.
• Assuming a successful meal payment means reimbursement will work: choose the repayment method before one friend pays for everybody.

Quick questions