Nobody Uses Cash in China? How Paying Actually Works

Walk into a shop, a noodle stall, even up to a street vendor, and the question usually isn't "cash or card?" — it's 微信还是支付宝？(wēixìn háishì zhīfùbǎo?), "WeChat or Alipay?" Almost everything is paid by scanning a QR code with your phone.

The words you'll hear

How it goes at the counter

The cashier points and says 扫这里 (sǎo zhèlǐ) — "scan here." You open WeChat or Alipay, scan, confirm the amount, done. You might also hear 你扫我还是我扫你？(nǐ sǎo wǒ háishì wǒ sǎo nǐ?) — "do you scan me, or do I scan you?" — which way the QR code flow goes depends on who shows their code.

• 可以扫码吗？(kěyǐ sǎo mǎ ma?) — "can I pay by scanning?"
• 我用微信 (wǒ yòng wēixìn) — "I'll use WeChat"
• 扫你还是你扫我？(sǎo nǐ háishì nǐ sǎo wǒ?) — "do I scan you, or you scan me?"

What about cash and foreign cards?

Cash still works, but tiny shops may not have change (没有零钱, méiyǒu língqián). A foreign card often won't scan at all — link WeChat or Alipay to your bank card before you travel. Major cities now have workarounds for tourists, but knowing 扫码 vocabulary lets you handle any counter smoothly.

Keep learning

• 块 vs 元: how Chinese people say money
• 找钱 (zhǎo qián): it means "give change"
• Room & phone numbers in Chinese, digit by digit
• Stop saying "can I have…?" — how to order food in Chinese