WeChat Pay HK payment in China

[Azuremain]

Can Wechat Pay HK users visiting mainland China pay there in all shops, restaurants, taxis, buses, the metro just with their UNVERIFIED WeChat Pay HK wallet balance or is an ID verification or bank account /credit card linking necessary?

[WineLuver]

been there few days ago, had to go through ID Verification to make payments (Such as in taxis)

[Azuremain]

been there few days ago, had to go through ID Verification to make payments (Such as in taxis)

Thanks for the reply. I guess that means photo of the HK ID card and personal details like name, birthdate and even residential address? After that were you able to pay everywhere even in small mom and pop shops?

[WineLuver]

If I recall correctly, I didn't have to put address proof.
Just ID card (tilt left and right to prove real), and some photos of me facing the camera.

Vertification has to be approved before you use it for payment, so I would advise you to do it prior to China entry.
It took less than 24 hours for their system to approve me though.

[qhank]

No proof of address was needed at the start, until I spent a little bit too much and they wanted to see a copy of my bank statement.

[shree711]

You have to verify your WeChat Pay while you're in HK but after that it works very easily in the mainland and offers better exchange rates than Alipay does.

[Azuremain]

Thanks all, do you think it's possible and convenient to bring only cash for a Shenzhen day trip?

[WineLuver]

Thanks all, do you think it's possible and convenient to bring only cash for a Shenzhen day trip?

I guess it's possible but people will laugh at you / get annoyed at you.
I rode taxi and paid in cash because WeChat pay wasn't verified, and taxi driver was laughing at me.
Even pre-covid, the restaurant was annoyed at us paying in cash. I would imagine it is more so now.

The thing is, without WeChat, it would be annoying to order stuff in restaurants, and DiDi (which is also available in WeChat) would be much easier than hailing taxi and saying the address

[Azuremain]

I guess it's possible but people will laugh at you / get annoyed at you.
I rode taxi and paid in cash because WeChat pay wasn't verified, and taxi driver was laughing at me.
Even pre-covid, the restaurant was annoyed at us paying in cash. I would imagine it is more so now.

The thing is, without WeChat, it would be annoying to order stuff in restaurants, and DiDi (which is also available in WeChat) would be much easier than hailing taxi and saying the address

That confirms what many say. Without WeChat you are stranded in China.

[Scorpio01]

Just returned from a trip from Sz and paid everywhere with HK Alipay, even beggars had QR code cards.