TenPayGo
WeChat Pay's standalone app for short-term visitors. An email address is enough to sign up: no Chinese phone number, no Chinese bank account, no WeChat.
The short version
- What it is. TenPayGo is a standalone payment app built by Tencent's WeChat Pay team. It launched on 24 September 2026 and is aimed at people visiting China for days or weeks rather than years.
- Sign-up. An email address is enough. No Chinese mobile number, no Chinese bank account and no WeChat account. That is the whole point of the app.
- Pay with. An international bank card on seven networks, Apple Pay, or a partner overseas e-wallet.
- Where. Any merchant in mainland China that accepts Weixin Pay, which in practice covers shops, restaurants, taxis, hotels and attractions.
- Cost. No 3% fee on card payments of ¥200 or less, and 3% on the whole amount above that. The 3% is waived for 90 days from your first payment, on up to ¥1,000 a day, for a card added before 31 December 2026. The app shows the exact amount before you confirm.
What TenPayGo is
TenPayGo is not a new payment network. It is a smaller front door to one that already exists. Tencent took two services that previously lived inside WeChat, binding a foreign card and paying with an overseas wallet, and put them in an app of their own with an English interface.
The payment service itself is called Weixin Pay in Tencent's own English, and WeChat Pay almost everywhere else. A cashier in a Shenzhen noodle shop sees an ordinary Weixin Pay transaction and nothing more, which is why the app works in places that have never heard of it.
What is inside it
- Pay for payment methods and the scanner
- Go for transport and tax-refund services
- A transaction history, so you can keep an eye on spending as you go
There is no messaging, no contact list and no mini programs. For a two-week trip that is a feature rather than a limitation.
Who it suits, and who it does not
It suits a visit
If you are in China for days or weeks, arriving with cards and a phone, TenPayGo removes the two things that used to stall people: needing a mainland mobile number, and needing to build up some account history before payments switch on.
It does not suit living here
You cannot add a mainland-issued bank card, there is no balance to hold, and there are no person-to-person transfers. For a longer stay, set up WeChat Pay or Alipay on your own number instead. TenPayGo is a visitor's tool, and it says so.
Setting it up
On Android, the download is blocked if you open the link inside WeChat. Tap the menu at the top right and choose Open in Browser, then download. And do the whole setup before you fly: email codes travel fine, but a hotel lobby is the wrong place to discover your bank blocks payments in China.
What you can pay with
Worth keeping the two figures apart. WeChat Pay as a whole already works with wallets from 16 countries and regions, which is a different number from what TenPayGo itself has switched on. The live list is the one inside the app under Supported Payment Methods, and it is the only one worth trusting on the day you arrive.
Where it works
TenPayGo settles through the Weixin Pay merchant network, which Tencent describes as tens of millions of merchants. The merchant does not need to have signed up for anything new. Tencent's own list of everyday situations runs from taxis and the metro to dining, shopping, supermarkets, hotels, coffee, bars, attractions and healthcare.
There are two ways to pay, and the app labels them exactly as you will see them:
- Scan to Pay at small shops and stalls. Scan the merchant's QR code, type the amount and confirm.
- Show Code to Pay at supermarkets and chains. Open your own payment code and let the cashier scan it.
What it costs
| Paying with | Fee |
|---|---|
| A bank card, ¥200 or less | No 3% fee |
| A bank card, above ¥200 | 3% |
| Your first 90 days, up to ¥1,000 a day | 3% waived |
| A refund | The fee comes back in proportion |
| Exchange rate | Set by your card network and your bank |
The two privileges sit alongside each other rather than replacing one another. The ¥200 threshold applies for the whole of 2026 on international cards, and the 90-day window starts after your first payment, for a card added before 31 December 2026.
One honest caveat. Tencent has not published a separate fee table for TenPayGo. The figures above are WeChat Pay's published schedule for international cards, which is the rail TenPayGo is built on. Your own bank may add a foreign-transaction fee of its own on top, and that part is between you and your bank. Check the confirmation screen.
Beyond paying
Circle to explain
Point the camera at a sign, a dish or a building and circle it for an explanation and a translation. It is the feature most likely to be used without thinking about it.
Conversation translation
Face-to-face translation for the moments that need a sentence rather than a word.
Scan and translate a menu
Photograph a menu, translate it, and show the result to the staff to order.
Shenzhen Tong transit
Activate a Shenzhen Tong ride code in the app and use it on Shenzhen buses and the metro. No phone number and no physical transit card needed. It is Shenzhen first, and Tencent describes it as opening gradually rather than switching on for everyone at once.
Departure tax refund
The app links through to the tax-refund process, built with ICBC's Shenzhen branch and other partners. It is a Shenzhen service at launch and Tencent says it is still in development, so do not plan a refund around it yet outside Shenzhen.
What it does not do
- It cannot take a mainland-issued bank card, so it will never be your main wallet if you live here
- There is no balance to top up, apart from the Shenzhen transit card, which can only be spent on rides
- There is no way to send money to another person
- There are no mini programs, no contacts and no messaging
- The transport and refund extras are Shenzhen-only for now
- Cash still has a small place: a few street stalls and small shops take notes only, or accept one wallet and not another, so ¥200 to ¥500 in small notes is worth carrying
TenPayGo, WeChat Pay or Alipay
| Question | TenPayGo | WeChat Pay / Alipay |
|---|---|---|
| Sign up with | An email address | A phone number, then passport verification for card linking |
| WeChat account required | No | Yes for WeChat Pay, no for Alipay |
| Chinese bank card | Not accepted | Accepted if you have one |
| Wallet balance | None | Yes |
| Send money to a person | No | Yes |
| Mini programs and social | No | Yes |
| Best for | A visit of days or weeks | Living here, or a longer stay |
If you are here for a fortnight, TenPayGo is the least setup for the most coverage. If you are staying, install the full apps and do it properly, because you will want the balance and the transfers eventually.
If something goes wrong
- A card is refused. Some issuers block payments in China until you tell them you are travelling. It is worth a call before you fly rather than after.
- A payment is wrong. Refunds are started by the merchant rather than by you. Agree it with the shop, they push it through, and the money returns to the card or wallet you used. Track it in the app's transaction history.
- Support. The app's own help and the Supported Payment Methods list are in English. Weixin Pay's customer service line is mainly Chinese, so handle card problems with your own bank first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What we could not confirm
Two questions come up that the launch material does not settle, and we would rather say so than guess. First, whether opening an account or adding a card involves any identity verification: Tencent describes registration as email only, and no published description mentions a passport step, but the app launched on 24 September 2026 and we have not tested it end to end. Second, whether cards and wallets issued in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, which are part of China, are treated as they are elsewhere. The material says payment methods issued outside mainland China, and draws no further distinction. Both answers are in the app, under Supported Payment Methods.