Alipay and WeChat Tour Card application services are being gradually discontinued, and the new application method has been updated. See the shutdown notes

We recommend reading the overview guide How Foreigners Pay in China - A Complete Guide to Mobile Payments first for better context

What is Tour Card?

Author's recommendation:

• Tour Card is indeed lighter, but it comes with a 5% top-up service fee.

• Tour Card can only be used at merchants that support UnionPay (UnionPay is China's official electronic payment network, operated by China UnionPay. It covers mainstream formal merchants across China, including restaurants, supermarkets, convenience stores, tourist attractions, and similar everyday spending scenarios, but its coverage among small street vendors is weaker than Alipay and WeChat).

• So I recommend directly registering Alipay or WeChat Pay and binding a bank card for payments. You can refer to these two guides:

1. A Foreigner’s Guide to Registering and Using Alipay in China
2. How Foreigners Can Sign Up for WeChat Pay (WeXin Pay) and Use It in China

Tour Card is a prepaid card service launched by China UnionPay. It provides short-term visitors to China with a temporary account for spending in China.

Users top up this account with their own international bank card, then use the balance for offline and online payments.

Tour Card Usage Rules

1. If the top-up amount is greater than 3,500 RMB (500 USD), identity information is required. The service is limited to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas individuals aged 18 or above
2. The account is valid for one year from the date of issuance. After expiration, it will be automatically frozen. You can choose to request a refund, close the account, or apply again
3. Supported bank card types currently include: VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club International, JCB
4. A 5% service fee is charged on every top-up
5. During the one-year validity period, the account has a top-up limit of about 70,000 RMB (10,000 USD). To top up more, you need to wait until the validity period ends and then apply the card again
6. The account can only be used for spending in mainland China. It does not support transfers to other people, wealth management products, cash withdrawal, or similar features

How to Apply for Tour Card

You can currently apply through two apps:

1. UnionPay: the official payment app of China UnionPay
2. Nihao China: an app for foreigners launched by UnionPay at the end of 2025. It supports registration by email, Apple account, and international phone number, and combines payment, transportation, translation, and other functions

Apply Through UnionPay

1. Search for and download UnionPay from the Apple App Store or Google Play
2. Register with a phone number (international phone numbers are supported)
3. Search for Tour Card in the search bar
4. Tap "Activate the Wallet"
5. Choose the amount you want to top up. If the top-up amount is less than 500 USD, you do not need to upload your passport to verify your identity information.

Apply Through Nihao China

1. Search for and download Nihao China from the Apple App Store or Google Play
2. Register with an email address, Apple account, or phone number (international phone numbers are supported)
3. Tap "Activate" -> "Enable" on the home page
4. Enter your phone number to activate your account
5. Choose the amount you want to top up. If the top-up amount is less than 3,500 RMB (500 USD), you do not need to upload your passport to verify your identity information.

Payment

• Offline payments: choose to show your QR code or scan the merchant's QR code, depending on the payment methods accepted by the merchant
• Online shopping payments: choose UnionPay as the payment method when placing the order. The corresponding UnionPay or Nihao China app will open automatically to complete the payment

Notes on the Shutdown of Alipay and WeChat Tour Card Application Services

According to the announcement:

• WeChat Tour Card has completely stopped service
• Starting May 29, 2026, the Alipay mini-program will stop card opening and activation services
• Existing accounts can still top up, spend, and request refunds
• After the card expires, users can request a refund and close the account in the Alipay mini-program
• After account closure, users can move to Nihao China or the UnionPay app to continue using Tour Card services

Since the Alipay application service is still valid for now (although in real testing, new users may have difficulty finding the Tour Card application entrance), we are keeping the previous application information below and will remove it after all channels expire.

Tour Card

This application method is about to expire. Click here to view the latest application method

1. Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas individuals aged 18 or above can apply for this account
2. The account is valid for one year from the date of issuance. After expiration, it will be automatically frozen. You can choose to request a refund, close the account, or reactivate it. After reactivation, the validity period is still one year
3. Supported bank card types currently include: VISA, MasterCard, Diners Club International, JCB
4. A 5% service fee is charged on every top-up
5. During the one-year validity period, the account has a top-up limit of 50,000 RMB. To top up more, you need to wait until the validity period ends and then reactivate the card
6. The account can only be used for spending in China. It does not support transfers to other people, wealth management products, red packets, or similar features
7. The account can only be applied for on the day after you enter mainland China, or later

Applying for Tour Card

This application channel is about to expire. Click here to view the latest application method

1. Open Alipay and search "Tour Card" in the top search bar to get Alipay Tour Card. If you want to use WeChat Tour Card, search "Tour Card" in the WeChat search bar.

   Extra note: There is also a Tour Card entrance on WeChat’s “Bank Cards” page. Although the underlying service is still provided by Bank of Shanghai and functions identically, that entrance is operated by a third-party company and can be unstable. It’s strongly recommended to use the official Tour Card mini-program directly

2. Because the system needs to verify whether you are inside China, turn on your phone's location services and allow the app to use your location information

3. After entering Tour Card, you can swipe through the step-by-step panel to view some current rules and terms for using this account

4. Tap 【Use Now】 to enter the application page. You can choose to apply for:

   • Standard Card (annual top-up limit: 50,000 RMB)
   • Experience Card (annual top-up limit: 14,000 RMB; you can apply to increase the limit later)

5. Fill in your personal identity information and submit it to enter the information review stage. The specific review period will be shown after you submit the application (estimated within 3 business days)

6. After approval, you can use the page functions such as top-up and binding to Alipay or WeChat. For manual binding, refer to the bank card binding sections in the Alipay and WeChat registration articles linked at the beginning, then bind the Tour Card card number