k_X_PPD_China

For many essentials in China, you would need these two infrastructure accounts namely wcpay and alipay. Most shops can’t accept credit card or ATM card, basically nothing but alipay/wcpay. Shops do accept cash but some don’t have enough small change. Beware over-dependency on alipay/wcpay. They tend to be more complex and have more restrictions than POS or offline cash

I believe mobile is the primary GUI (browser? Nah), so you need to invest sufficient time to learn the basics. Alipay has better customer hotline but its integration with taobao is tricky.

I think Alipay is more foreigner-friendly. There is a brower interface with minimal functionality.

For Alipay/wcpay, each mobileNum is dedicated to one account only. Externally, each Alipay account is identified by a mobileNum (occasionally, email address). No sharing of mobileNum between two accounts.

— fake banknote .. Another reason to prefer ePay. Some unscrupulous taxi drivers or shops may quickly switch your genuine banknote for a fake one and then return the fake banknote to you “Hey, you gave me fake money”.

They usually do this with 100 yuan notes since they are the most valuable, although it may happen with 50 yuan notes too. Because of this, travel advisors suggest travelers in China keep some 10 or 50 yuan banknotes for small payments and avoid using 100 yuan notes when taking taxis or making small transactions. Personally, I guess this is rare, but frequent enough to warrant the above advice.

— PPD .. Alipay, wcpay, Meituan, Hello .. these platforms all have a PPD [=prepaid deposit] account, often in addition to bank card binding. Each platform has a “deduction_precedence” governing which account to hit first.

Alipay and wcpay can transfer to/from bank card. Unlike paypal, transfer-out incurs a 0.1% fee for wcpay/Alipay.

— risk of suspensions by banks, alipay, wcpay
In many countries, credit cards can be suspended, when banks pick up suspicious signs. In Singpaore, I have seen many. SCB once locked down my FAST.

In contrast, China /operators/ are more vigilant on fraud detection. They often use face verification (hard to pass). China goverment require these /platforms/ to use smrz, but Meituan is less strict.

Alipay and wcpay have larger user base than most banks. I think their systems are more automated.

Alipay payment amounts tend to be smaller than bank transfers. Alipay is almost as trigger-happy and as regulated as banks, in terms of fraud prevention. Trigger-happy banks would freeze your account and require verificaiton at branch. Alipay would also freeze your account and require some verification.

To recover from suspension, it is easier to visit a branch. However,

• I worry about psbc::gp card suspension. Grandpa is immobile.
• I worry avbout my alipay/wcpay account suspension. No branch:( I took lots of pains to pass smrz and then remain under the radar.

If wife’s alipay binds psbc::gp, suspension of the bank card is unlikely and only authorized by PSBC, according to hotline.

==== wcpay
My wcpay is set up with smrz (+bank card) + 15910255241
HSBC-Sg visa card … can keep there as reminder “Foreign cCard usable”. Removed in Sep 2023

RedPacket is a payment channel, not an account. All incoming/outgoing amounts hit the wcpay PPD.

PPD is one of several payment_modes (also payment_channels). 服务 > 收付款 > below QR code > payment modes ranking > PPD is one option beside bank card.

In Sep 2023, I was able to top up Hello PPD from wcpay PPD.
In Feb 2024, I was able to withdraw/cashout from PPD to my ICBC bank card within 2 seconds 🙂

Settings > Help/Feedback > online help .. there’s some live chat
Settings > Help/Feedback > wcpay > Help center
Settings > General > 辅助功能 > wcpay

Q: why is smrz so much stricter in wcpay than wechat?
%%A: I think wechat is just another messaging app, but wcpay is a financial infrastructure component. A wcpay account is a bank account.