How does mobile payments work in China?

After you download Wechat or Alipay to your phone, you’ll need to link a bank account to either app. Once your bank account is approved, you can pay by scanning a QR code or launching a QR code from the app to be scanned.

The square-shaped mosaic-looking QR codes are usually right next to the cash register in shops across China. Codes from WeChat carry a green background, whereas Alipay is in blue.

The annual value of mobile payments in China is about $17.8 trillion, compared to just under $50 billion in 2017 in the US.

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