How to Register an Alipay Account Outside China

Online payment is becoming so important, especially in China. Almost everyone in China use online payment instead of cash or cards. To register an Alipay account is simple. But this article will show you how to register an Alipay account without a Chinese bank card or bank account.

1. How to register an Alipay account outside China?

Step 1 Preparation

  • Prepare your passport and phone number
  • Download the Alipay app on your App Store
  • Choose a language

You should make sure your passport is valid, and use an overseas phone number instead of a Chinese phone number. 

Step 2 Register an Alipay account

  • Choose the country or region you’re living in
  • Enter your area code and mobile phone number

Remember that this phone number should be the one you use regularly, because we are going to use it later.

  • Click on the agreement, then click “sign up”

As you have entered your phone number, Alipay will send you a message with a verification code.

  • Enter the four-digit verification code
  • Choose “yes” when it asks if you want to use the international version of Alipay

Step 3 Verify your Alipay account

Identity verification is a must on Alipay. With a verified account, your payment and personal information will be more secure. Besides that, you have access to more Alipay features.

To verify, you can take the following steps.

1. Click the setting icon on the “Me” page

Click the setting icon on the "Me" page

2. Click the “Account and Security” button

Click the "Account and Security" button

3. Choose “Real-name Verification”

Choose “Real-name verification”

4. Scan your passport and verify face

Scan your passport and verify face

After you’ve done all the steps above, you now have a verified Alipay account.

Keep reading to learn how to use your Alipay without a Chinese bank card or bank account!

2. How to use Alipay without a Chinese Bank card or account?

Though Alipay is available nearly around the world, it is hard to take this payment method with a Chinese bank card as a foreigner. Luckily, you don’t have to apply for a Chinese bank card or bank account now. The mini-app TourPass will help you pay via Alipay without any hassles.

What is “Tour Pass”?

“Tour Pass” is like a prepaid card from the Bank of Shanghai. It allows you to use Alipay with bank cards of your own country. But this Alipay mini-app is for payment only. You can‘t transfer money to another bank account through it.

Alipay tour pass

To use Tour Pass, you will also have to provide your passport information to verify your credit card or debit card. And make sure your bank card is a VISA card or Master Card, or other cards that Alipay accepts.

After you verify your TourPass account, you can top up it. The minimum top-up amount is 100 CNY(US$14.34), and the accumulated maximum top-up amount is 10000 CNY(US$1434.34). A 5% service fee will be charged for every transition.

With a valid date of about 90 days, Tour Pass is quite nice when on tour. After it expires, your remaining balance will be returned to your bank account without any service fee. If you still need to use it, you can reactivate your account.

TourPass on the Alipay homepage
Top up your TourPass

How to Use “Tour Pass”?

  • Click “Tour Pass” on the first page of Alipay

If TourPass doesn’t show on the Alipay homepage, you can search it on the search box and then add it to the home page.

  • Choose the country or region you’re living in

Remember that all your information must be 100% real. Otherwise, it won’t work.

  • Fill in your passport number, your name and birth date as required.
  • Upload a photo of your passport
  • Fill in the information of the credit card you are going to use
  • Then you can top up money to your Alipay account

3. How to use Alipay to pay?

  • Use open payment to pay

You need to set a six digits payment password. After you set your password, you can pay with Alipay. Or you can use your biological ID, like fingerprint or your face ID, to make payment.

Open payment by Alipay

FAQs

1. Is Alipay safe to use?

Yes, it is safe to use.

Alipay is a mobile and online payment platform founded by Alibaba Group in China in 2004. Since then, it has been developing and scaling its reach across the globe. In 2013, Alipay overtook PayPal as the world’s largest mobile payment platform. In 2021, the number of worldwide users of Alipay was around 1671.7 million. So Alipay has proved popular and trustworthy to use.

In addition, Alipay adopts advanced encryption to safeguard your payment and personal information. People around me have used Alipay for many years. Up to now, there have been no things like scams or frauds.

2. Can I transfer money to another account through Alipay?

If you want to transfer money to another account through Alipay, you need to have a Chinese bank card. But if you don’t want a Chinese bank card and you need to pay a Chinese supplier, you can ask them to give you their QR code for payment. Then you can pay them through Tour Pass, as it becomes a payment action. One thing is that the money you can pay with Tour Pass is limited.

Payment via QR code

3. What can I do when it says I have made too many attempts in the registration process?

In this case, you may

  • Check if there is something wrong with your network
  • Clear your cache on the browser and try again
  • Download the Alipay app from the Alipay website

Hope you find this article helpful.Let us know if we have further to improve! Please leave your sweet suggestions on comments. Thanks for helping us to get better!

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161 Comments

  3. I have been trying but to no avail. Don’t have an Hong Kong number to verify the code SMS I thing this is the lastest version of Ali pay.

  5. I was able to setup an account with my US number but after top up it started asking me to validate my cc but wont do anything. Is this a common issue and how to fix this

  7. I’ve set up my Alipay account, but i was unable to pay, it keep saying wrong payment password. And I’m sure of the password i set…please how can i regain my password

    • Hi Lekan,
      did you setup your payment password? its not your login password.

      if have any problem pls email us, we’ll help you out.

  10. Hi,I’m from Philippines. How can I link my debit master card on my alipay account? It’s a bank account in Philippines I have not a chinese bank.

  13. How Can i pay?

    The other party’s money-receiving code is the domestic money-receiving code, which can only be used within the country. 100

    Please help me.

  14. Thank you for this information. I am in UK. I have just set up Alipay and can only use it via Tour Pass. Is it possible for a Chinese person in China to send me money to my wallet via Tour Pass? Or can I only have money outgoing?

  15. I am from bangladesh i want to apen alipay account Please halp me
    haw to open alipay account and What do I need to open an account?

  16. Why you didnt answer me?

    How Can i pay?

    It will allways come this Message:

    The other party’s money-receiving code is the domestic money-receiving code, which can only be used within the country. 100

    In china and Last year in Germany, i have no Problems. But now i cant pay anything.

    Please help me. Or can i created a new account with german creditcards? So that i can pay on Chinese Page, like in china. If yes, give me a manual.

    Xiexie

  17. I started to register and then switched out of the app to translate a page, when I returned it asked me to login for verification and asked to enter bank card number. I have never input a bank card number so I cannot login now.

  19. Hello,
    After I try to do the real-name verification and I fill my passport data, they ask me for a mainland China bank card or a passport chip. But my passport doesn’t have that chip, is there a way to go around this?

  20. Whenever I tried to log in in the Alipay app, it redirect me to verify bank account. I tried put my bank account but it does no avail. I’m from the Philippines btw.

  21. hello,
    i am live in the US trying to verify myself to use taobao and it says i need to verify myself on alipay with my passport. i did, but my passport does not have a chip. is there a workaround this or could you help me? i need to pay my products in the warehouse. please contact me. thank you

  22. Also can’t get past the screen where it requires a Chinese bank card to do the verification. I already added my passport and everything.

  23. Hello,amanigerian and have been trying to sign up on alipay but it keep saying
    ‘System error,we’re checking it now’
    Please what can I do?

  24. Hello,am a nigerian and have been trying to sign up on alipay but it keep saying
    ‘System error,we’re checking it now’
    Please what can I do?

  26. Am trying to pay using Alipay but am failing after scanning code and on the payment page after verification I get a Chinese pop up. Which when translated means

    “The other party’s money-receiving code is the domestic money-receiving code, which can only be used within the country.”

    What is the solution.

    • yes, you have to ask the receiver to provide you an cross board QR code, then you can go smoothly.
      For the Domestic only available for Chinese people.

  27. Respected concerns!

    Good Evening and I hope you will find fine.

    I have been in Pakistan since last year, i can not come back to China due to Covid-19 epidemic disease. Hopefully, all the problems will be solved as soon as possible. I am a student at Beijing Institute of Technology in Beijing, China. The mobile on which I use my alipay account has broken and can not be repaired. and my alipay account has registered with china unicom sim company.Because, my sim card is power off and still i am not available in china to re issue my sim card. I also tried to log in through my email link with my account. Please guide me how i recover my account in my new mobile and i want to draw all available money in account, please also guide me how i can withdraw my money from alipay account.

    Thanks & Best Regards

  30. Everything has gone smoothly, except when it asks me for my location – it’s all in Chinese. I’m on the international alipay and it has accepted everything else to verify me.

  31. Hi, I had already registered my Philippine number in the app, but not yet verified an accidentally switched off the phone,and when I opened it again,it goes to lift restriction, asking bank card…I input my bank card number but not accepted…why and how can I open my registered account?

  32. I don’t have a passport and i am trying to send money scanning a qrc code but it says “merchant does not support international credit card”. Is there a way around this to still send money with my credit card from the US to China?

    • Hi Ronaldo,
      So sorry to hear that. that’s because the merchant send you the QR code for domestic market. So have to ask they send you the QR for international money collect.

  33. Hi Dear, I’m trying to set up an international alipay account, but passport has already expired in March 2021. How else can I verify myself?

  36. Hi I am from Australia. My international area code is +61 and my mobile number reads 0416 XXX XXX.
    Under profile my alipay account number reads 61-0416XXXXXX.

    Do I disregard the ‘-‘ when providing my number to others? A company wants to pay me and has asked for my alipay account number.

    My understanding is that tourpass only lasts for 3 months and is not permanent.

    • Hi Priscilla,
      Pls do keep the “-“, you should provide the number:61-0416XXXX to the vender. When they send you money it will verify ur name like this: *cilla(61-0416XXXX).
      And also you can use the QR code to collect money, just click on the Pay/Collect, and choose Collect, then you specify amount, save QR code and send to vender.
      Pls note: the balance in Alipay only can withdraw to Chinese bank account, so keep in mind collect money to Tourpass.

      Any thing not clear pls feel free to contact us.

  37. Hi I am Rahmat from Nigeria anytime I want to register on tour pass it keeps telling funding failed. I went to my bank and complained but it’s still the same thing.

  38. Hi! I’ve been trying to verify my account for while now without any success. The page is unable to recognize my passport. I’ve tried two different passport but still got same respond. Please you can reach me through my email above if there’s any solution. Thanks!

  40. I’m from the Philippines. I have an Alipay account and tried activating TourPass. However, I cannot get past the verification stage of personal info because the Philippines is not listed in the Nationality/Region. Any idea on how to solve this?

    Also, is there a way to top up my Alipay Balance? My credit card does not allow me to do so…

    Thank you

    • Hi Karen,
      Pls use passport to verify your account, and you can top up to TourPass, when you pay you can choose Bank of ShangHai/prepaid card.

      Kindly regards!

  41. Hi, please I already added an international passport first, before adding my card details.
    When I try to top up, it says oops I do not have a bank card. The visa bank card is showing, but it’s still telling me add bank card.

    • In this case means the Bank of Shanghai they can not verify your VISA bank card, you have to change another one.

      Cuz all Alipay Tourpass go through Bank of Shanghai.

  42. Hey guys 🙂 Does anyone now if I can create & verify 2 Alipay accounts with 1 passport? Thing is that I verified one account with non-Chinese number (for Tour Pass and also making orange QR code for getting money from colleagues in change of cash, haha), and I’m using account with Chinese number for Health Code – so, if I can verify account with Chinese number, I could ask colleagues to send me money there and I could use didi/hellobike/all other things as a regular human being in China 😀

  43. I have smoothly registered for Alipay and tourpass. I also was able to transfer money from my bank card to tourpass. I wanted to pay the vendor, I keep receiving feedback “No direct payment method can be used currently, please choose another method to complete payment”. Then it displays option for me to add a new card but it doesn’t show me my card that I already added.
    I don’t know what to do and I urgently need to pay a supplier. Please help

    • Hi Sir,

      That’s mean the vendor didn’t support credit card yet, you can ask him to active credit card payment or you have to find another vendor.
      In China most supplier on 1688 or Taobao they accept credit card, and Huabei, few of them just ask cash.

      Kindly regards!

  45. Hello,
    i want to create an Aliypay account, but i can’t find my country name(Morocco) when i try to add my Region as described above
    best regards

  46. Hi can I used alipay here in Turkey? İ previously live in Hongkong and using alipay apps for remittance to PHİLİPPİNES, now i moved to Turkey, can i still use my alipay? İf yes, how i will do it?

    • Trying to send money from tour pass to individual Alipay account but it’s not going. It’s prompting the receiving Alipay’s account only supports payment in Chinese mainland

  47. Hi~ I used Alipay last year but now expired.
    So I want to re-active Alipay but after upload my passport picture, alert system notice ‘system is busy, try later’
    I tried more than 10 times but same notice alert! So what should I do to re-active Alipay? ;ㅁ;

  49. Hello, my passport expired I cannot go to next what can I do. Now I cannot use Alipay to pay my Chinese mobile apps. Thanks
    Reply

    Hello, my passport expired I cannot go to next what can I do. Now I cannot use Alipay to pay my Chinese mobile apps. Thanks

  50. Please if the number I used in registering alipay account and the number on my bank card is different …hope it doesn’t matter??

  51. Hi, I am from Singapore and I have set up my Alipay account and everything but when I try to add a mastercard bank card it will say “The linking of this card is temporarily unavailable. Please try another bank card”?
    Please advice how I can solve this error. I would require the account for online purchases.

  52. Hello, can I make a verified alipay using my country’s passport and does it not require a china bank account? Can we increase alipay Limit to more than 200K per year?
    can you help me make a verified alipay that can be used for shopping on taobao
    Thank you

  54. I need help
    I don’t have a passport, is there any other way to use national identification card or PayPal on apps like pinduoduo

  55. Hello,i opened account and every step ,but the problem is ,it says the supplier account thet i want to pqy cant recwive payment from oitside china mainland

  56. Hi. My bank details is not the same with the international passport details. Can I still use the bank card??

  58. I have been trying to register fir alipay for past 2 days but there is an issue. After I put in my phone number then hit NEXT. A message comes up stating “you’ve made too many attempts, please try again later” I tried it on another phone using a different phone number and same message.

  59. Hello, I reached a limit on Alipay what time can I continue and what is annual limit for mainland China

  60. Hi, I am faaidah from Nigeria. I have been trying to register for alipay but after I input my number and click next, it is always telling me too many attempts, I tried using another number, I got the same result. I am not using VPN or proxy, please help, what could have cause this?

  61. I was using alipay while living in China. I am no longer living there but I like to order things from Taobao to be delivered to addresses in China.
    My alipay is now asking for chinese ID even though I never had to add that. Can I just update my passport info (as the old one expired) and continue to use alipay? or will I need to change my alipay to being out of China? Would I still be able to access taobao in china?

  62. Hi! I downloaded alipay and have validated my account and all that but I can’t find TourPass? Is this no longer available in Alipay? thanks!

  65. My phone is not picking up the verification codes. Can I be verified by e mail. I have had Alipay before but I cannot retrieve my old account. I need to get this sorted quickly please.

  66. Dear Sirs.

    1. I live in Poland.

    2. I have successfully completed a very detailed registration on AliPay, including a scan of my passport, etc.

    3. I have a virtual Visa card obtained on the Wise payment platform

    4. I tried to top up my AliPay account in CNY from my Wise account. However, I was unable to do so
    Please help me with this matter

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