This is a simple How To on how to Sign up / Set Up and Verify an Alipay account as a Foreigner in China
UPDATE: This has been updated as suggested in the comments! Thank you so much for the Comments – Keep them Coming so we can keep this guide updated!
Checklist of what you will need:
1. Passport Scan
2. Visa Scan
3. Latest Entry Scan
4. China Bank account in your name with working Log In
(I suggest Bank of China as they have a non-usb code generator you can ask for or ICBC)
As suggested in the Comments – TURN GOOGLE TRANSLATE OFF – if you have it turned one, before you advance to any other steps – Google Translate tends to break the forms when you try to submit them!
Step 1: Sign Up
Visit: http://www.alipay.com/
Click the REGISTER WITH EMAIL LINK
** DO NOT REGISTER WITH YOUR PHONE NUMBER – YOU WILL NOT BE SHOWN THE FOREIGNER OPTIONS AND WILL FAIL!! **
Step 2: Check Your Got E-Mail!
Step 3: Enter Your Chinese Phone Number or Phone number in your country if you are not in China and then enter the Confirmation Code sent to you via SMS.
Step 4: Enter you address and other information
The first field requires you to create an account password. Remember it must be 6-20 letters, and have
one lower case letter and one uppercase letter/number/character. Retype it in the next field.
Next you must create your payment password –
it is very important for the future that you remember the difference between your payment and account password. Enter it in the field, and
retype it into the next field.
The login password will be used to log in and the payment password will be used as the final step to confirm a Payment.
The third section is a security question. The first choice on the drop down box is your father’s name, and the second is your mother’s
name. To avoid later confusion, probably best opt for one of these.
– Fill in your name
As suggested by Brad: You have to enter it EXACTLY as it is recorded by your bank. In particular, the name turned out to be LASTNAMEFIRSTNAMEMIDDLENAME —no spaces, all uppercase. Maybe your name has also been entered unusually. I was able to check this through internet banking with ICBC, the bank I’m using.
– Gender (男- man 女- woman,)
– ID pick – 护照
– Passport Number
– Job (just pick anything)
-Your address in Chinese if possible.
Step 5: First Part Done
Step 6: Verify your account Using your Bank account.
1. Log in to Alipay with the account you just created
2. Click on the buttons below
Step 7: Choose Foreigner and Confirm you agree to the Terms and Click the orange Verify Now button
NOTE: Dhaka said: “I didn’t see this screen at all. On the screen that I encountered, the “expatriate” option was the last link in a horizontal link on the right side of the page.”
Step 7: Fill in your info and upload Passport and Entry Stamp/Visa Scan
NOTE: Make sure to upload your VISA + ENTRY STAMP – not just the VISA – If you VISA and ENTRY STAMP are on different pages – use something like Paint or Photoshop to combine the two pages into one image and upload!
Step 8: Fill in your info Bank Account info
NOTE: Make sure you use your Full Name EXACTLY AS on your Bank Account, the ORDER of your name/surname is also important – even perhaps try to log in to you internet banking and check the name from there.
Step 9: ALMOST DONE – Wait for Money to appear in your Bank Account
If everything is correct you should see this screen – now wait for 1-2 Days for a small amount of money to be deposited into your account – less than 1 RMB
– Once you have received this – make note of the amount and log back in to Alipay
Step 10: Final Step Confirm your account
– Click on these buttons again
– Now Click on this button – then enter the amount transferred into you account on the next step an CONFIRM!!
You Should now see this image. YOU NOW HAVE A CONFIRMED ALIPAY ACCOUNT!
***Once your Alipay account is set up, simply log in to Taobao using your alipay username and login password, and a New Taobao Account will be created, which is linked to the Alipay account.*** – Thank you Beth for your suggestion to add this.
Now you can use buy something on Taobao and Pay with your Chinese Bank Account via your Alipay, you can also transfer money into your Alipay from your Bank Account!
Thanks! This was very helpful, and got me through the process smoothly.
It may be worth adding at the end of the post that once your alipay account is set up, simply log in to taobao using your alipay username and login password, and a new taobao account is created, which is linked to the alipay account.
After logging in with the alipay credentials, it prompted me to make a taobao username and enter a verification code (texted to my phone).
Previously, I thought I had to set up a taobao account separately, and then somehow link it to the alipay account, but that almost got me stuck (as I just saw happened to some others in the comments with multiple accounts w/ same phone number).
Hi Beth! Thank you for your suggestion – I have added it to the end of the tutorial! I am glad you were able to set up you Alipay account!
*** Important Verification Info ***
Alipay’s verification system cannot verify names longer than 20 letters (I don’t know if this includes/excludes spaces).
(I’m not sure if this is a face-saving tactic or actually true, but it’s better to at least know about the possibility.)
If you’ve read my post from Nov 2014, I explained that I couldn’t verify my account. So I tried again a few months later and received this error: “System Error.”
After contacting them by phone through a Chinese friend, they responded to me by email and explained the above reason. Since my bank account uses my first, middle, and last name, the name is longer than 20 letters.
So what exactly did you do to resolve this? I think I am having the same problem.
Same here. Did you find a way of actually dealing with this problem?
I tried placing my full name is without any spaces and it worked.
Hi I live in Singapore and I am having trouble to activate card account at Alipay wesite. I have try many time show that you already activated card account. Usually i haven activated card account now. I am needed someone can help how can i activate card account. the amount i had paid to the card. Awaiting for how to activate card account. I’m not sure what I should do, please help
Rdgs
Florence
email: [email protected]
Some steps have changed apparently. It will ask for your Chinese name and ID. No option for foreigners. Another ways of China preventing foreigners from doing business here without letting a local in on it (use a local’s account so they can screw you).
Greetings! Was wondering if anybody else is also stuck in Step 4?
So, I have tried more than 10 times in creating an alipay account, but it appears that the system has changed. How so?
Well, instead of sending an email, the page requests for one’s phone number first. After verifying that the email account is indeed mine, I am directed to another page where I am requested to input passwords and oh gosh! A CHINESE IC? That is just surprising really.. I had even selected ‘my country’ [which is not China] at the very first step of the procedure.
Kindly enlighten me on what I should do to solve this dire problem.
Sincerely Yours,
Ms. Sincerely Desperate (lol)
Oh, and I found out that if you select ‘USA’ as your country of origin, everything (the webpage) appears the same as above (with passport and security questions and such). However, if you select (for my case) ‘Indonesia’ for ‘country’, the page requires a Chinese IC instead… :O
Trying to do this today and the parameters have changed. Now I am asked to enter my “real” name in Chinese after the password boxes. Looks like they are making it harder for foreigners?
I also had this problem. Would appreciate help! 🙂
Some more background the authors might find useful: On the screen shown for Step 4, the account password and payment password questions are same, but it does not ask for security question. Instead asks for real chinese name.
Same here!! T// ^ //T
Hi I live in Singapore and I am having trouble with the verfication/authentication. I have made a few purchases from Taobao but have yet to pay for shipping fees. I had no problem when I made those purchases but when I tried to pay for shipping fees, I am needed to enter my password and a verification code which I don’t usually need to do. After that, it will lead me to an open an account page where I have to write my email and a verfication code. After, it will lead me to an authentication page with a ‘verify now’ button. When I click that button it leads me to a blue and white verified page. I click the expatriate button, they are asking for other information and a prove of entry which I do not have. When I make purchases from Taobao, i always use a Mastercard and have never added money to my Alipay. When i open my cart and try to login to my Taobao with another computer it will lead me to the same process. I’m not sure what I should do, please help T_T
Jas, have you managed to solve ur problem? I’m currently facing the same issues. It’s just so frustrating.
not yet, have you?
Im facing the same problem, can anyone help?
Hello.
I’m a foreign student living in the US (non us citizen) I would like to buy something in taobao and have it delivered here to the US. Could I open an alipay account? I would appreciate any info. Thanks.
The guide is really great, and I followed it and managed to get everything done down to the last stage where they should deposit less than 1RMB in my account and I verify the amount.
However, my first attempt with my BOC card failed, saying that it couldn’t transfer the money.
I tried again with my CITIC card, and it failed again, same reason.
Now I have to wait 8 days it says before I can try either card again, it’s so frustrating! Why has this happened, it doesn’t give a proper reason or advice. so annoying!!!
Please help.
Hi I am a Singaporean and I recently made a refund for my taobao purchase.
The refund is now sitting inside the Alipay account. How can I get the refund to credit back to my singapore bank account?
Hi, thanks for the guide.
I created my Alipay account, it is linked to my Taobao account. My bank, name and phone are verified.
But, when I go to pay for something on Taobao, it seems I cannot pay directly through my verified bank account?
I see a screen, I select my bank, and it wants me to add my card number etc, and it requires a (Chinese) ID number.
I do not understand why I need to add my bank card, I already verified my bank account, why/how can I pay directly with it?
I erally need some help, I am SO close to buying something! I can upload pictures if needed.
Thank you, I appreciate it!
Ok, I figured out the problem.
My bank (CCB) does not allow people to use Alipay with a passport number, only an ID number.
I wish I would have known that before I got my bank account set up, online banking set up + USB device, verified my Alipay account… hahaha
what is the visa and entry stamp about? Do I need to be physically there first then only I can apply?
My question is Can someone just sell me a alipay account. I don’t even want a alipay account I really want an already established aliexpress, taoboa, or T-mall selling account, to receive and offer my subscribers Micro Payments.
Today I searched the entire web looking for a website that allow me to make a MicroPayment as low as $0.25 usd or less, eBay failed, Amazon failed, and Etsy Lied. I than remembered Aliexpress and found an item for $0.10 cents usd. I’m not a rocket scientist but I’m pretty sure these processing fees ($0.30 + 2.9%) that almost every financial institute in the U.S. charge, Visa, Mastercard, and even Paypal, does not even come close to being as low of a process fee that Chinese Banking systems charge there sellers. I should or have to go into detail to explain why I am interested in the situation, but you (whos ever reading) should no that the sellers on these chinese marketplaces can sell things like (a button, screw, piece, etc) for as little as $0.10, have it coverted to there currency, pay there site processing fees or banking fees, and still make a profit. And to top all of that off the little $0.10 cent button I bought today is being shipped to me for free from china to the US. How the hell are they making a profit from that? Could someone explain how is china or chinese marketplaces doing this and how I can be apart of it with having to go through the trouble the poster before me and after me are having. I no how to make alternative Paypal accounts, but I need micropayments and I am willing to pay for the help and advice. Contact me by email at [email protected] Thanks for reading.
John M. Macer
[email protected]
Hi, your guide is very clear and useful. But I have a question. I’d like to sell some products as an Italian company and, even if I don’t have any problems to set up Alipay account, I don’t know which one is the easiest way for a foreign company to become a seller and open a shop online on the most widespread Chinese site. Maybe TMall Global, Taobao or what? Could you please help me to find the basic requirements for the procedures? Internet is full of lies teller…Thank you!
Hopefully you can help me out. Your instructions were clear and easy to follow. I had no problems setting up the account, in fact it was verified in 2 hours. My only problem is this: I’m trying to book an apartment on AirBnB, when I went to make the payment, it took me to the Alipay page and asked me to agree to some terms and conditions since it was going to be in a foreign currency. After that it took me to a page asking me to do a real-name authentication since it’s my first time dealing in foreign currency. First of all, i already did the real name authentication with my passport, residence permit, visa, entry stamp, everything. Secondly, the field only accepted Chinese ID, not my passport number. Also, when I try to add my Chinese bank card to my Alipay account, it also asks for a ID associated to the bank card, but the only ID option it allows me to input, is a Chinese ID, again, not my passport ID. I tried to call Alipay, they told my friend that payments can only be made in RMB, which doesn’t make since because why would they have a vendor (AirBnb) whose account is set up to receive USD. Also the paying in USD wasn’t the issue, it was the fact that it was asking me for a Chinese ID, that’s why i couldn’t continue the payment. My friend and the Alipay person kept throwing me useless, random, irrelevant, information that had nothing to do with answering the question which was: why is it asking me for a Chinese ID, when my account is set up as a foreigner, and has already been real-name authenticated? Do you have any ideas?
I would simply suggest you use paypal or a foreign credit card to pay on AirBnb
Hi,
Is it possible if in step 7 I input my data, but in step 8 I input someone else’s data? I heard that it doesn’t matter if they are different. Could you please clarify, thank you.
Hi Briana, I am glad you doing my good on how to set up an Alipay account as a foreigner! You have to put the same persons info in step 7 and 8! This is how your account is verified! I hope you get your account set up and vertified soon!
Thanks a lot DieSkim 🙂
Hi, The alipay account was created by mobile app using phone number.It was never used. I always used to do my payments using bank card. While getting a refund for one of my purchases,seller credited the amount in alipay account.It does show as credit in the taobao payment page, but it asks for alipay payment password to use the money. No clue how to proceed, I never created any password. Any help will be highly appreciated.
I have already verified my identity in alipay. But i still cant use it in taobao. Im having some hard time. Can somebody help me please?
Hi Karen! I am glad you found my guide and was able to set up your Alipay account and get it Verified! I think the easiest would be to simply log out of taobao with the account you are logged in now and then log in to taobao using your ALIPAY CREDENTIALS – once you are logged in with your Alipay Username you should then be able to simply add things to the cart and pay using your Alipay account.
Hi,
Thanks you for all the information. I have everything ready and just to confirmed Malaysia 中国工商银行 apply a bank account， the bank account can tie with Alipay account? for the 立即认证
Hi! Glad you found my guide on setting up an Alipay account as a Foreigner! I dont think you can use a Malaysia Branch of a Chinese Bank – I think it HAS to be a Chinese Branch of a Chinese bank! I do know that in Malaysia you can use Malasian banks to pay with for you Taobao goods – you can even get shipping to Malaysia very easily – Here are a few links
https://cshall.alipay.com/lab/help_detail.htm?help_id=385107
Hi,
Thank you for your guide to set up an alipay account! It was great and I have succesfully set up mine! My only problem is that I don’t know how to connect it to my taobao account. Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks!
before i wqs using taobao and doing shopping for whole year but today my account was frozen even my 500 rmb is still in alipay .how to sort out of this problem.can you help me out .because accountwas mine but id was not minethat was a chinese id number
Zeeshan, That is why you need to verify the account in the first place! I would suggest creating another verified account in your name – and then trying to transfer the money out of the old account to the new one – I hope you get your Alipay Account Set Up and Verified as a Foreigner soon!
i am from Pakistan. here is no such option for my coutry. what to do now?
Zeeshan, Glad you found my guide on how to Setting Up and Verify an Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! I think you could just pick any foreign country. I hope that helps you set up your Alipay account!
Hi, I’ve just try select any foreing country but you have to verify by phone! If you select etc. Russia you get +44 and is impossible insert corret phone number. I thing that is impossibe setting up account with another country.
Plese let me know if another way how to set up.
Thanks
Martin
Hi Tomas! Glad you found my guide on how to Setting Up and Verify an Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! – I do remember that there is a option to select China to have the Text Message sent to – other than the default country – so you could just pick China then.
Hi
ive registered to alipay, and the it needs to confirm my user, at somepoint and in the same screen it asks, for 2 different types of passwords, and the last part it asks for: 真实姓名 and 身份证号码.
the first one is my name, but when i type it in, appears a red window and it says: “姓名格式为汉字或“·”。”
what does that mean?
and in the other box where it says 身份证号码, it requires some number and i dont think its my passport…
i would really appreciate it if you could assist me, that’s a point where i am stuck and cant continue.
thank you.
Hi Kfir, Glad you found my guide on Setting Up and Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China!
It seems like you are registering as a Chinese Citizen – if not it would not be asking for your ID number / 身份证号码 – it would be asking for you Passport number – that is also why it is saying your name can only be in Chinese characters – 姓名格式为汉字或
Please follow the guide from the beginning again – the first two or three steps are very important to making sure you set up a foreign account.
I hope you get your account set up soon.
Peace
Hello I alipeu registration but can not fill identichnostMolya fill in the certification within 15 days overdue need to re-apply
Holder smetkatal wants 18 numbers and letters what is
Hi, its great that you found my guide on how to set up Alipay as a foreigner! I am not sure I understand what you mean? Try to use my guide again step by step…
Hi,
Thank you for the guide!
Just to clarify, what is the proper order for the address part?
Is it “[province] [prefecture] [county] [street address]” or is it the opposite way? Could you give an example?
I’ve been trying to set up an account during November. I’ve inputted all the information correctly (passport and visa with entry stamp) and each time it failed. It never specified what the problem was. I don’t know why this happened, but I gave it up.
Recently, I recently once more, this time combining my visa w/ entry stamp and my residence permit into 1 photo.
When I tried this past time (Dec 23), it now says “System Error” and suggests that I try a different authentication method.
抱歉，暂时无法操作。
失败原因
系统出错啦。
您现在可能需要：选择其他认证方式
Hi Jordon! Glad you found my guide on Setting Up and Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China!
The Address Part should be:
Province + City + District + Street Address (I dont think there is any need for anything else)
I would suggest trying again today or tomorrow – something might have just been broken on their system!
I hope you get your Alipay set up and Verified soon!
Hello DieSkim,
I’ve tried countless times over the past week and a half, and I get the same result every time. I have no idea why this is happening.
I’m not sure if this might affect things, but I’ll mention it anyways.
Originally, I created a Taobao account, which I learned auto-creates an Alipay account. Since I had problems authenticating that account, I decided to create another Alipay account (not knowing that I was then making 2 accounts, which I later discovered). I’ve tried authenticating both and I get the same error. Both Alipay accounts are hooked up to the same phone number, so I wonder if that causes the “system error” that it cites.
Jordan
Hi Jordon, Glad you found my guide on Setting Up and Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China!
I think you need to at least remove your phone number from one of the two accounts and try again…
I hope you get your Alipay account set up and verified soon!
I think I’m having this problem as well! How do I remove my phone number from the automatically created account?
Also, just wanted to mention that I was having problems with the captcha and eventually I realised I had my VPN on. Once I turned it off I had no problems.
This is a great guide, thank you!
Whoops, never mind. The problem seems to have been that my surname is hyphenated, and writing it all as one word fixed things. I’m waiting for them to put money in my account now, fingers crossed!
Glad you found my guide on how to Setting Up and Verify an Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! I hope you get your Alipay Account Set Up and Verified as soon!
Glad you found my guide on how to Setting Up and Verify an Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! I hope you get your Alipay Account Set Up and Verified as soon!
Hello DieSkim,
I disconnected my phone from one of the accounts and tried again. It still failed with the same error. I disconnected it from the other account. Still same fail, same error.
I even went through the above guide and created a new account with a separate email address specifically for this purpose. Still failed, same error.
At this point, I think I’ll need to have a friend who can speak Chinese contact them for me and help me figure out what’s going on.
Thank you for your help and for this guide though!
hai I am ameen , I am from india how can I register
please give me reply
Glad you found my guide on Setting Up and Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! If you have a Chinese Bank Account with Internet Banking enabled you can use that to set up and verify you Alipay account.
Can anyone help? I submitted my passport and entry stamp proof. But kept receiving messages that the verification fails, as the documents are not complete.
Forgot to add that I am a Singaporean. We do not need to apply for visa to travel to China. I wonder if that is the cause of failure to do verification, as I have only submitted the passport and entry stamp. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hi Joy! I have not personally had any experience using a Singaporean Passport to Set Up and Verify a Alipay account! I wonder if you would be able to contact them and explain that you do not need a Visa to Travel to China?
Hi DieSkim,
I have finally managed to get my Alipay account verified. I took a photo of another country’s visa, together with my entry stamp, to prove that the entry stamp was from my own passport! And tadah… Finally got my account verified! Yay! Thanks for your advice.
Hi Joy,
Could you elaborate abit more clearly ? You mean you took a photo of another passport which had a visa and together with your entry stamp and it passed? Or did you take the photo of a Visa to another country (e.g. Japan) from your passport ? IF its the prior, it seems like the Chinese issued visa has our name on it ?? surely they can see. If its the later, they don’t look like a chinese visa ??
Sorry! Confused.
Hi, I have the same problem with Jaakko. I dont know if he has already fix it?
1) After submitting everything, I received a reply email;
亲爱的会员：您好！
您申请的[支付宝个人认证认证]失败了，失败原因为：支付宝向您的银行账户打款失败，请及时登录支付宝查看打款失败原因并重新操作。 。
点此登录支付宝
如果上述文字点击无效，请把下面网页地址复制到浏览器地址栏中打开：
https://www.alipay.com/
2) So I logged in but cant find where the system actually identify the problem.
I try certifying again it showed;
银行卡信息认证失败。
您的银行卡信息认证失败，请更换银行卡重新认证或撤销认证7天后（2014年12月17日）使用原银行卡重新认证， 撤销本次认证。
3) I clicked on.
撤销成功后，您可以重新申请实名认证。
So I enter my password and it showed this;
撤销成功。
现在您可能需要：重新申请认证 | 返回我的支付宝
4) And it just start again. I’ve no idea whats wrong.
—–
BTW it said that Bank card information authentication fails,
I’ve changed my passport from the time I made that bank account, and the passport number is different
Do you think thats the problem?
Apparently its not the passport number, i went to update my new passport with the bank
but it still shows the same error
Hi Fang, Glad you found my guide on Setting Up and Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! I am sorry to hear that you are having problems verifying using your Chinese Bank Account? What bank are you using? Have you tried a different bank?
Can I set up an account from overseas? Foreigner with no china account.
Hi Mich,
Really glad you found my guide on how to set up an Alipay account as a foreigner! I think you NEED a Chinese Bank Account with Internet Banking Enabled -I am not sure if you would be able to do it with a foreign bank account.
I hope you get your Alipay account verified soon!
hihi, I am a foreigners from Singapore. Is it a must to have a BOC credit card in order to verify? I am stuck with Step 8: Fill in your info Bank Account info. Please guide me
Hi JoJO,
Really glad you found my guide on how to set up an Alipay account as a foreigner! You dont need a BOC credit card – just any Chinese Bank Account with Internet Banking Enabled would be good enough! I am not sure if you would be able to do it with a foreign bank account.
I hope you get your Alipay account verified soon!
I’m trying to create an Alipay account but I have the same (initial) issue as Shawntaye: it keeps asking me for a ID number that is Chinese. I tried with different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer), and I still can’t find the way to specify my passport and visa information. I tried with both my Chinese and my French phone numbers, and I always get the same on Alipay step 2 (which is step 4 in the article above). By the way, the form I get does not look like the screenshots of the article. Especially on your step 4, I don’t get the “security question” field below the passwords fields: I directly get the “real name” and ‘ID number” fields. No other option.
Any suggestion greatly appreciated.
I eventually managed to solve this issue: the problem that I was choosing my country of residence (China) rather than my country of citizenship (France) on the first screen. When you choose China on the first screen, you don’t get the option to provide a passport number.
Great! Really glad you got your Alipay Account Verified!
Hello. I am trying to register for an Alipay account and I can’t get past the step after creating passwords because it keeps asking me for a Real Name and ID Number. I think it’s for Chinese people. How in the world can I get past this point I am at?
This is really annoying me. I figured out how to get through the first part. Now, I am trying to select the city for my bank, which is Shanghai and it just refuses to work. I don’t know why. It will not even let me select the city, no matter how many times I keep trying. The city is there, but it won’t show up after I select it as my having made a selection. Very frustrating.
Hi, I am happy to help you set up and Verify your Alipay account as a Foreigner in China! Have you Tried a different Browser? Sounds like browser issue to me – maybe Chrome?
I will try a different browser. I was using Chrome. Another question, my visa and entry stamp are on 2 different pages. Thus, I have 2 separate photos. It seems to give me one photo upload. Is it going to be a problem if I upload only the visa page photo?
Hi Shawntaye – yeah I think you need the VISA + ENTRY STAMP to be able to get your Alipay account Verified! The easiest would be to use something like paint or photoshop to combine the two scans (one of VISA and of the ENTRY STAMP page) on to one image and then uploading that single image? Let me know how your Alipay Set Up works out!
Thank you. I finally figured out how to merge the two photos together so that is working. Still having problems with this stupid select city thing. Very frustrating. It just won’t even show my selection when I choose Shanghai or any other city. I don’t know what the heck is wrong.
Hello. I finally got this doggone thing to work. I had to keep turning on and off Google Translate. When I had it on, it wouldn’t let me pick my city and like let it stick, so to speak. When I turned it off, it worked.
Great news that you got your Alipay account verified! I will add a note to my guide that people should disable Google Translate!
I am glad you got past this step in you Alipay Verification set up! What was the issue?
I hope you can help!!
I’m trying to verify alipay account with china bank account.
I followed the above. I keep getting verification failed. They cannot put a deposit into my China construction bank account.
Does my bank account have to be set up any certain way? I got the whole name thing line exact as bank account and passport name.
what to do? thanks.
Hey! Have you been able to figure this out? Maybe go to the bank and ask them to make sure what you bank info is – you could also try opening an account at Bank of China? I hope you are able to set up your Alipay account and get it verified soon!
Hi, I'm from a country that does not appear in that list…. what should I do?
Thanks
Thanks for the Comment! Glad you found my guide on how to Set Up an Alipay account as a foreigner! In a list of steps on what step are you? I think the first step you can pick any country – after that I am not sure!
Hi. I only able to successfully set up part 1. About the bank part, why do we need to do that? Can we reload our Alipay account by own if the bank part has set up? Could you please reply to my email. Thank you so much.
Hey Sling!
Great news that you were able to successfully set up a Foreinger Alipay Account! Verifying your Alipay account using your Chinese Bank account is always the best thing to do. As you will be able to pay for your purchases with Alipay directly from your bank account without having to load money into your Alipay account. You will also not have any problems like losing your money or account because of your account not being verified. And yes to answer you question, you will be able to reload your Alipay account on your own – but you would not even need to do this as you would be able to pay for purchases directly from your Chinese Bank account. I hope you get your Alipay account set up! Peace
Hi, my first attempt at authentication failed due to blurry passport page. I’m trying to cancel/withdraw the application so I can upload another scan. However, I’m not able to cancel the application. Instead, Alipay is asking me to download software (or so google translate tells me). I have all the screen shots but cannot paste them into the remarks.
From Laura’s message above, I know submitting another request for authentication is possible but how?
Appreciate any guidance. I’ve wasted more time on this than I’d like.
Thanks.
Blee,
I am glad you found my guide on how to set up an Alipay account! I believe you should just log in again and then it would still say that you need to verify – when clicking on that link it should ask you to re-upload? If I am wrong reply to Laura`s message and ask her how she was able to re-upload.
Also I have written you an email so that you can send me the screenshots and I can add them to the guide. Thanks!
I hope you get your Alipay account setup soon!
Got stuck on the second step, as my email is already linked to a PayPal acount. I’d like to link my Chinese bank account/ card (through Bank of China), though. Any suggestions?
Hi Laura, I am glad you found my guide on how to set up an Alipay account! Did you get an error message saying that your Email was already connected to your Paypal? Why not try a different email address? I hope you can set up your Alipay account using your Bank of China Bank account!
That’s what I tried next, and it worked! Then, using your guide, I was able to set up the rest of the account. I did receive a message that my visa was blurry, and had to re-upload and wait a day for the name authentication, but THIS DID SUCCEED and I can now buy things on TaoBao!! Everyone from seasoned expats to bank employees told me this wouldn’t work, so THANK YOU SO MUCH for publishing such a thorough tutorial! 🙂
Ok, here’s an update on my situation. For details about it please read the thread and find my name (Slayer4ya – Initial Posting: 15 October 2014 at 12:33 am).
The same error message continues to appear no matter what way you apply. The information I have entered is accurate and I confirmed with my bank. Bank of China refuses to assist on this issue as it is not their problem they said. This is an alipay problem and they reassure me that at this time, although the option is available, that foreigners are not able to obtain/ verify their alipay accounts. I’ve been working this issue for more than a month and no matter what way I tried it doesn’t work.
Bank and Location:
My bank – BoC – Bank of China
Location – 中国，山东，青岛 － Qingdao, Shandong, China
Hope this helps. I will continue to look for a solution and if success will post one.
Cheers,
Unfortunately I did not manage to attach a screenshot here, but here is the text by copy-paste:
银行卡信息认证失败。
您的银行卡信息认证失败，请更换银行卡重新认证或撤销认证6天后（2014年11月04日）使用原银行卡重新认证， 撤销本次认证。
Do you have any idea why only someone needs this real-name authentication? Few of my friends can use taobao (or recharge money to alipay-account) like always before, but the few can not.
Hi Jaakko, the message seems to say that you could ether try again to Verify you Alipay Account with a different bank card or wait 6 days and try again. I would make really sure you have the correct details. If it still does not work I would open an account in Bank of China as I know that Bank works. Maybe someone else could suggest another bank that has worked for them to set up an Alipay account? On your question of why some people need to verify. I am sure that Alipay checks random accounts and that some accounts get flagged. I also know that using a VPN or accessing your Alipay account from a different location tends to get your Alipay account flagged and then you need to Verify your Alipay account. I hope you get your Alipay account set up soon!
Hello everyone, I’m here for another question…. my alipay account is not verified, question:
a friend of mine makes a donation from your account alipay, can it work?
Thanks for reply.
Regards
I have also the same problem as Slayer4ya has. I tried to do the real-name authentication, but I always get the message, that they can not do the confirmation(copied below). I have account in the ICBC-bank.
亲爱的会员：您好！
您申请的[支付宝个人认证认证]失败了，失败原因为：支付宝向您的银行账户打款失败，请及时登录支付宝查看打款失败原因并重新操作。 。
点此登录支付宝
如果上述文字点击无效，请把下面网页地址复制到浏览器地址栏中打开：
https://www.alipay.com/
Do you have any new ideas about that?
Hi Jaakko, I am glad you found my Guide on How To Set Up Alipay as a Foreigner in China using your ICBC account. According to the Error message “请及时登录支付宝查看打款失败原因并重新操作” you can Log In to your Alipay account and see the reason your bank transfer authentication failed. Please log in and look for the error message and post it here so that we can see how we can help you. It would also be much appreciated if you could post a screenshot we could add to the guide if needed. I hope you get your Alipay account Set Up asap.
Nice guide. The screens that I encountered didn’t quite match those in this guide, but close enough. Some small corrections I found:
1. Initial screen (Step 1): the default (for me, at least) was phone, not email. Which won’t work with an overseas phone number (it forces the country code of the country you select; selecting China puts you on the ID card track). There’s a link at the bottom of the page that lets you use email instead.
2. Step 7: I didn’t see this screen at all. On the screen that I encountered, the “expatriate” option was the last link in a horizontal link on the right side of the page.
Still took me three tries. First time I didn’t give full name for bank account. Second time didn’t include visa AND entry page. Still, everyone said this couldn’t be done…
Dhaka
Great news that you got your Alipay account Set Up as a Foreigner with you Chinese Bank Account! Thank you so much for you comments! I will look into it and add changes to my Alipay Set Up Guide!
Hi DieSkim, I do not have a bank account in China and I do not have a stamp in the passport of China .
You said that there are other methods …. have to pay ? Can you tell me what ??
thanks.
There are ways to get an account – I am still not sure how this will help you to buy things as you will still need to be able to add money into the Alipay account! So even if you have set up an Alipay account you would not be able to get cash into it to buy something. Have you asked the site if they accept something like Paypal? If you really need an account contact me with Hire-Me page and I can help you there.
Hi, my names Salvatore from Italy.
Do I need to buy products of 1688.com , I registered my account on alipay .
I gave my passport number and everything else and it’s ok and it works.
To authenticate my account asking me visa to enter China , I do not have an entry visa in my passport , how can I fix it?
thanks
Hi, Do you have a Chinese bank account you are trying to use to Set Up an Alipay account ? If you do I would just show any stamp you have in your passport from the past – if you dont I do not think you can Set Up an Alipay account using this method…. there are other ways.
Just want to leave a feedback.
Awesome guide, after reading several of them, this one is far the best.
Before my Chinese gf could explain to me what is what and trying to explain that it can’t be done, I did it by myself. She only entered Chinese address.
It works 🙂 thanks
Great! Glad I could help you set up your Foreign Alipay account!
This is my failure message. Any idea’s why?
亲爱的会员：您好！
您申请的[支付宝个人认证认证]失败了，失败原因为：支付宝向您的银行账户打款失败，请及时登录支付宝查看打款失败原因并重新操作。 。
Appreciate the help.
Hi – It seems that when you were trying to Approve your Alipay account the Bank transfer failed to transfer the small amount of money to your Bank account. You will need to go back into your account and make sure you set the right bank account number and Name for you bank account so that the money can be transferred and you can Verify your Alipay Account.
Let me know if you still cant get it!
I needed to wait 8 days to reapply. I tried again and received the same error message. I know what it says just don’t understand how to fix it. Any other ideas? I know the account number and holders name is correct. The guide is good, but I’m stumped here.
Once again, appreciate any help or suggestions.
Cheers
Hi, What bank are you using to try to authorize and Set Up your Alipay account? Also have you tried to swap around your name where your surname comes first? Also possible removing spaces between your name and surname and even in your surname sometimes helps. You could also possibly go to the bank and ask them to simplify the name on your account.
Hello,
I’m using Bank of China. I’ve tried removing spaces in the name as many foreigners have long names and banks will remove spaces because their systems cannot accommodate them. I haven’t tried last name first so I will do that and get back to you. I will try a couple idea’s of my own and if all else fails I will check with my bank. I will keep you posted with the result so if anyone else has this problem they will know what to do.
Cheers
Great! Please keep me updated on how your Alipay Setup with Bank account goes!
I heard that unconfirmed account can still buy products in taobao :p
Yes you can but it is better to have a Confirmed Alipay Account for many other reasons.
Hi,
How about if you are from different country than those above, what then
When Setting Up Alipay for Taobao as a Foreigner in China you should just pick the Country You are from. If it is not available you could just pick any country when verifying your Alipay account- the Country is mostly used for sending you the text message with the Alipay Verification code – but as they allow you to pick a Chinese number that does not really matter! Let me know if you have any other questions on how to set up your Alipay account!
Thanks, you just replied to my question ! But I have a follow up account : Before , I used my Alipay account with my ex gf (who is chinese) informations . I want to keep this alipay account for business, but i would like to open another one in my name, with my own bank account this time. However I only have 1 phone number. Do you know, if I use the same phone number for both alipay account, it might compromise the first one and I end up getting logged out completely from Alipay ? Worst case scenario, but here in china you never know.. thanks for your help !
Hi Bastien, Glad you found my guide on how to Setting Up and Verify an Alipay Account as a Foreigner in China! I think it would be best to not use the same number for two accounts! Rather get another number – you could even use a Virtual Text Message Number…