How do I pay for things in Shenzhen?

Start with WeChat Pay

WeChat is the app the city runs on. Open it, go to Me → Services → Wallet → Bank cards, and add a Visa or Mastercard. You will be asked to verify your identity with your passport. Once that is done, the same QR scanner pays for the metro, the noodle shop, the electricity bill and the barber.

There are two directions to learn, and they work differently:

• Scan: you point your phone at their code. Small shops, market stalls, street food.
• Pay: you show your code and they scan it. Supermarkets, convenience stores, chains.

If someone gestures at their phone, they want to scan you. Open Money → Receive/Pay and turn the screen around.

Then Alipay

Alipay does the same job and works better in a few places: some train ticket machines, some government services, and the Tour Pass product aimed at short visits. Most people end up with both apps on the phone. Setting Alipay up follows the same steps, passport first and then the card.

The Chinese bank account

Once you have a residence permit, open a local account. It removes the small foreign-card fee on every transaction and raises the daily limits. What people forget is that it also lets other people send money to you, which you need for splitting a bill, being paid back or receiving a stipend.

Bank of China and ICBC deal with foreign customers most often. Go to a large branch in the morning with everything: passport, residence permit, police registration slip, Chinese phone number, and your admission letter or employment contract. The whole thing takes about two hours.

What still needs cash

Not much. A few older taxi drivers still prefer it, some rural markets only take it, and you will want it on the day your phone dies. Keep two hundred yuan in notes somewhere separate from your phone.