Finally, you can sign up and verify an Alipay account without a Chinese bank account now!
It has always been very easy to sign up for Alipay, but it is very difficult to verify an Alipay account as a foreigner in the past. It requires you to have a Chinese bank card to complete the verification, which is a very high threshold.
But in the last 2 years, Alipay has changed its rules and now you only need a passport and face verification to have a verified Alipay.
In this article, I will explain step by step how to create and verify your Alipay account without using a Chinese bank card.
Note: The Alipay account I mentioned in this article refers to the Alipay personal account, which is different from the Alipay business account offered by Alipay for some foreign companies.
1. Why you should have a verified Alipay account
If you are planning to use Alipay regularly, I suggest you verify your Alipay. if you don’t verify your Alipay, you can still shop on Taobao. but if you have a verified Alipay, there are many benefits:
- Your Taobao and Alipay accounts are safer
Because your account has been verified by your real name, Alipay will trust you more and will not freeze or restrict your account unexpectedly anymore.
- Your tourpass money is more protected
To be honest, now your tourpass money is not safe and Alipay may freeze or stop you from using it anytime. With verified Alipay, your tourpass will be more secure.
- Verify your 1688.com account
If you are using a 1688 account, you can complete the verification of your 1688 account by linking to your verified Alipay. This will also greatly minimize the possibility of your 1688 account being restricted or unable to log in.
2. Create your Alipay Account
You can register on your computer or on your cell phone, but at the time of verification, Alipay will still ask you to download the app to complete the verification, so I suggest you download the Alipay app directly to register.
Step1. Download and install the Alipay app
You can download it directly from Google Play or Apple’s App Store by searching for Alipay(支付宝).
When installing, you should give Alipay permission to access your camera, we will need it to scan your passport and face recognition when verifying your Alipay later.
Step2. Enter your mobile number
Now open your Alipay app. if the page is in Chinese, you can set it to English by clicking on the “language(语言)” in the upper right corner.
We only need to do one thing on this page-enter your mobile number. the default country code 86 is for China, you have to change it to your own area code.
Then enter your mobile phone number next to it, remember, don’t add “0” in front of your mobile number.
Step3. Sign up
The Alipay system will detect that this is a new mobile number and then go to the sign-up page.
As in the above step, you need to select your area code and enter your mobile number again.
Step4. enter the verification code
Next, an agreement page will pop up, click agree to it.
on the verification code page, fill in the 4-digit verification code you received.
If everything goes well, you’ll be on the Alipay homepage, next we will proceed to verify the Alipay account.
Click “Me” on the bottom right corner of the user center page.
3. Verify your Alipay Account
Step 1. In the User Center, click the arrow in the upper right corner to go to the profile page.
Step 2. You can see on the profile page, the second column (Real-name verification) is grayed out(Unverified), we now click here to complete the verification.
Step 3. Now we come to the identity verification page, you can see that there are 3 options, which are
- Passport chip & face verification
- Verify face
- Mainland China bank card
Usually, we choose the easiest one – Verify face.
The best verification method is still the mainland China bank card verification, after completing the bank verification, you can use alipay balance, you can use alipay to receive and pay with more amount.
But it is not easy to register a Chinese bank account, you need to come to China to open an account in person. you can’t open an account remotely or in your country.
If you want to learn more, here is a guide on how to open China bank accounts as a foreigner.
Step 4. The first step is to scan your passport, preferably in a bright area.
Step 5. Then it will jump to the face recognition page, click “verify” to scan your face.
Step 6. If everything is OK, they will send you a short message to tell you that the verification is successful. you will also be at the certification center.
You can see that your personal information is “Incomplete”, you need to click here to update your personal information.
Step 7. In the personal information page, you can see that there are 2 fields that are not completed, “Occupation type” and “Address”.
Step 8. Click “Occupation type”, from the many occupation options that pop up, choose one according to your personal situation.
Step 9. Now click “Address”,
for “Location”, you can choose “海外(overseas)” for both state and city, then click “确认(confirm)”.
for “Address”, you can input your street address. then click “Save” to finish the whole process.
Step 10. After you have completed the above steps, you can see on your personal profile page that the second column (Real-name verification) is turned to blue(Verified).
You now have a verified Alipay personal account!
4. Set up alipay Login and payment password, Email, etc.
After registering and verifying your Alipay account, we need to set up your Alipay account in order to make it more convenient and secure for future use.
Step 1. Click on the Settings icon in the upper right corner of your user center.
Step 2. On the settings page, click the first option “Account and Security”.
Step 3. Now we are on the “Account and Security” page.
You can set up many things about your account here. I will introduce 3 main ones: Email Address, Alipay password, Login password.
You can add your email address so that you can log in directly with your email address in the future.
Alipay password here means Alipay payment password, it is a 6-digit number and it is very important.
You need to use it when you pay in Taobao, 1688, and even when you change some of your alipay information. So I suggest you write down this password on paper to avoid forgetting it.
Login password means your Alipay login password, it can be a combination of numbers and letters.
5. Final words
If you have done the above steps as I said, congratulations, you should have a full Alipay account now!
Next, you can shop on Taobao or top up tourpass to pay for your purchases.
If you have any problems or questions about the Alipay registration process, feel free to leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
342 thoughts on “How To Register And Verify Your Alipay Without Chinese Bank Account”
HI i have a registreted alipay account that i use regulary in china mainland with no problem. Problem is that now i am back home (in france) for holidays , where i got my phone stolen. I bought a new phone and downloaded the alipay app, but now i can’t access my account as they ask to send me a text message to my chinese number, for the id verification, which of course doesn’t work in france, so i can’t connect to my account therefore can’t access my money.
View CommentIs there any otherway i can do the id verification?! email or add a french number…?
Thanks for your answer.
Thanks for a very useful post. It helps pin down the issue for me: Cannot verify identity without a mainland-located bank. Not even with an account at the Malaysian branch of Bank of China. Too bad. Real bummer.
I guess even the recently-launched AliPay Malaysia will not work as a channel to verify identity at AliPay China?
View Commentyes,AliPay Malaysia will not verify identity at AliPay China
View CommentWhat if I don’t have a passport?!?!?
View CommentHi Eric, I use to live in China for work a few years ago (currently based in UK) I still have my ICBC account there, when I registered the card with alipay it asks for a mobile number (I assume this needs to be a local Chinese mobile.) Problem is that I stopped using my china mobile number which I registered my ICBC account with. Does that mean I need to go back to china, get a new mobile number then go to the bank branch in china to provide them with a update a new mobile number?
Another option for me is to use a Hong Kong bank account, are HK residents able to order from 1688.com using their HK bank accounts via alipay HK? Sorry about the long text above, thanks in advance for your help, much appreciated.
View Commentyes,you need a new mobile number.and no,alipay hk is an independent app.
View CommentHello sir, i have a passport (not Chinese), and if i will visit to ruili city, Yunan province , can i make a bank card by passport?
View Commentyes,you can.
View CommentMy company would like to have a company’s verified Taobao account. We currently do not have any bank accounts in China. And the limited amount of money in our account or how much money are we allowed to spend a month or a year. Thanks a lot
View CommentHello Eric,
I am a Vietnamese. I want Verifying my account but I doesn’t see the choice 护照, I just see the choice 身份证。 Now, can you recommend some idea to help me verify my alipay account?
I have Vietnamese passport
View Commentdo you have a China bank account?
View CommentHello, I am a foreigner from Singapore and have just created Alipay account (not the international one). my account is created but i can never log in again once i signed out. Or even when i was logged in, they still prompt me to sign in again and doesnt allow me to sign in. Did i misread anything?
View Commenttry to contact their customer service:https://www.howtotao.com/taobao-customer-service/
View Commenthello
View Commenti am a foreigner in china and i am unable to enter my details of bank into alipay. please help to resolve it.
i am facing issue of ID number and i did not see any option regarding passport number, i visited my bank but they said your details are correct….
please provide more details to my email,I will try to help you figure it out.
View CommentI have the same issue. I want to choose Passport but it only has 1 option for Identity card which needs 18 number digits
View CommentI upload the screen shot here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0I3P1bZOjydd0Q2NldOa202U3c/view?usp=sharing
Thanks to take a look.
it says if you want to use Passport,you must input your bank account number firstly.
View CommentHi i am facing the same problem. i am in HOng kong.
View CommentHi Eric
I’ from Malaysia and it will launch AliPay acceptance very soon. I’ve been trying to find more information but not able to find much on technical side.
I suppose to use aliPay we need to do the following :
1. Download app and register account with mobile number
2. Add credit card and then top up our alipay account
3. Start using it
Is the above right?
What about being a merchant. Do you have any idea how to start for me to accept alipay customers?.
If im not mistaken i need to sign up cross border account but not sure with who and also get the terminal from the local bank as part of the settlement bank. Is this right?.
I can’t find any technical or clear instruction on how this would work.
Appreciate your help.
View CommentHi Eric,
View CommentIf I go to China, I have passport but have no visa, can I register a bank account?
yes,only passport is ok.
View CommentHi Eric,
My mum ordered something online and the payment went through, but the product hasn’t arrived yet and now her account is frozen but we don’t know why.
Is there a way to track the order or get a refund even if the account is frozen?
View CommentWe are from Australia by the way.
View Commentyou can contact Taobao customer service for ask for help.https://www.howtotao.com/taobao-customer-service/
View CommentHi. I have my balance frozen in Alipay. My alipay is Bob73547@Gmail.com
View CommentWho can help me? Please advise. Thanks
View CommentHI,you need to call taobao customer service,they will give you a solution.
View CommentCan alipay Accept a credit card from USA
View Commentyes.
View CommentHi,
I’ve applied for a refund and it’s been accepted but I seem to have problems with account verification. I paid using a debit mastercard, will it get refunded to my account regardless or do I have to resolve the issue first?
View CommentHI,Money will be refunded to your debit mastercard card.
View CommentHow do u ask for the refund ,my money has been stucked inside as they need another bank for verification which I don’t have ,can u kindly advise me how do u ask for refund to your credit card thanks very much
View CommentHEY PLEASE ANSWER TO THIS. I am regular Taobao user. Bought something the seller didnt ship for some time and I opened a refund and he refunded me. I am used to doing refund etc and it never showed any error and just went to my debit card in a week or two. But this time it says it can’t verify my alipay and won’t be “used directly”. I tried verifying but it wont allow my debit card that I regularly use on taobao. Will it still go back to my debit card in a few days or am I just screwed?
View Commentwill go back to your debit card.
View CommentHello Eric, i want apply for Bank Of China in Malaysia, is it acceptable for verify my account in alipay?
View Commentno,only banks in mainland China.
View CommentHi! Can you help verify Alipay foreigner?
View Commentsorry,I cann’t
View CommentHi Eric, If im going to China Mainland for a short 1 week holiday, am i able to open a mainland bank account and then use it to verify on Alipay? Do they require permanent residency proof? I saw that one of the documents required is 入境证
View Commentno,they don’t need that.
View Comment