🇲🇾 How to Pay in China as a Malaysian (2026 Edition)

For a complete overview of all payment options in China, please read our Ultimate Guide to Paying in China.

Quick Summary

• ✅ Link your Malaysian Visa/Mastercard to WeChat Pay International for QR everywhere.
• 💙 Use Touch 'n Go eWallet via Alipay+ at Alipay merchant QR codes across mainland China.
• 🏦 Maybank, CIMB and Hong Leong apps can scan Alipay+ merchant QR codes. Hong Leong can also scan WeChat and UnionPay codes.
• 💳 Carry a contactless Visa/Mastercard or UnionPay card as a backup for malls and hotels.
• 💵 Keep about ¥200 cash for taxis and rural stalls.

1. Set Up WeChat Pay International (10 min)

1. Install WeChat and register with your +60 Malaysian number.
2. Navigate to Me → Services → Wallet → "Cards" → add your Maybank/CIMB Visa/Mastercard.
3. Complete identity verification with your passport if prompted (needed for higher limits).

Fees: free for single payments of ¥200 or less; above ¥200, 3% of the full amount (TenPay rules). Your bank's foreign currency fee applies on top.

2. Touch 'n Go eWallet via Alipay+

TNG eWallet has supported Alipay+ payments in mainland China since 2023. Open TNG, tap the scanner and scan a merchant's Alipay QR code — you pay straight from your ringgit balance, no card linking needed:

• Since 25 April 2024, TNG builds a 1% conversion fee into the exchange rate it shows you (no separate charge). The rate is displayed before you confirm.
• Merchant QR codes only — no personal QR codes or peer-to-peer transfers, so keep WeChat Pay handy.

McDonald's 10% off poster (to 31 Dec 2026)

We've seen Alipay+ posters in McDonald's restaurants in Shanghai and Shenzhen offering "Scan for 10% off", valid from 1 October to 31 December 2026. Touch 'n Go eWallet is one of the eight wallets listed, and the poster says the offer is only for authenticated users of Alipay+ partner wallets. We haven't tested it and couldn't find the published terms, so any spending cap, usage limit or list of participating restaurants is unconfirmed. The poster doesn't list Malaysian banking apps, so don't count on the offer with Maybank, CIMB or Hong Leong.

3. Pay from Your Maybank, CIMB or Hong Leong App

You can pay straight from your bank account, with no e-wallet to top up and no extra app to install. Look for the Alipay+ logo at the till. Of the three banks, only Hong Leong also lists WeChat and UnionPay codes. We haven't tested these apps in China yet.

No service fee doesn't mean free. We couldn't find a published exchange-rate markup for any of the three banks, so compare the ringgit amount on the confirmation screen with the day's rate.

How to pay an Alipay+ code

1. Open the QR scanner: the QR logo in MAE, DuitNow QR in OCTO, or QR Pay in HLB Connect.
2. Scan the merchant's QR code showing the Alipay+ logo.
3. Enter the amount in yuan if the app asks for it.
4. Check the merchant name and amount, then confirm. Have your app authorisation ready: Maybank requires it above RM250, and Hong Leong requires it once you pass your no-authentication limit (RM250 at most).
5. Show the cashier the payment confirmation.

What to watch for

• Shops showing only a WeChat code: Maybank and CIMB list only Alipay+ for China, and RinggitPlus reports they can't pay these shops. Keep WeChat Pay with a linked card as a backup.
• Cashiers who want to scan your phone: SoyaCincau reports the Alipay+ route only works one way. You scan the merchant's code, and the merchant can't scan yours.
• Large bills: Maybank's RM1,000 daily limit may not cover a hotel stay, so carry a card as well.
• Bank Islam: PayNet says it's set to join soon. We haven't seen it confirmed live, so check your app before you rely on it.

Hong Leong: WeChat and UnionPay codes

HLB Connect has a separate service for these codes. These details come from Hong Leong's FAQ:

• Set it up before you fly: go to Menu → App Settings → Manage QR Pay Settings, turn on UnionPay and choose your account. Hong Leong says it can't be turned off once enabled. If you skip this, the app walks you through activation when you first scan in China.
• Codes it can pay: a WeChat or UnionPay logo, or a code with several logos as long as one is UnionPay. For this service, you can also tap Show My QR for the cashier to scan.
• Limits on WeChat codes: business codes are limited to RM3,000 per payment and ¥10,000 a day. Personal seller codes, common at small stalls, are limited to ¥500 per payment and ¥2,000 a day, and need location access turned on.
• Which balance pays: with a Pay&Save or HLB Wallet account, you can convert ringgit to yuan before the trip and lock in the rate. WeChat and UnionPay payments use your yuan if you have enough. If not, the full amount comes from your ringgit balance. Alipay+ payments always come from ringgit, even if you hold yuan.
• Where it won't work: Hong Leong names table-ordering mini-apps and subway gates as places that may not take UnionPay. Link your Hong Leong Visa or Mastercard debit card to Alipay or WeChat as a backup, with Overseas Retail Purchase and MOTO enabled. Credit cards can't fund HLB Connect QR payments.
• Refunds: settle any problem with the merchant on the spot, because Hong Leong won't reverse a successful payment. Personal seller WeChat payments can't be refunded at all.
• Islamic accounts: payments are declined at merchants that aren't Shariah-compliant.

4. Contactless Card Backup

Malls, international hotel chains and big retailers often have contactless terminals that take Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay cards. Acceptance at small shops is low, so use this as a backup for larger bills. Card payments avoid the 3% QR fee above ¥200, but check your card's foreign currency fee.

5. Cash & Rural Backup

• Exchange at Bank of China counters on arrival.
• Small notes needed for certain public toilets and night-market stalls.

6. Traveller Q&A

7. Cost Snapshot

Helpful Walk‑Through Video

Short demo by a KL vlogger (YouTube, 4 min):