Need to register an Alipay account, but you do not want to compromise your personal phone number? In this article, we will explain a method for verifying Alipay without a phone number. Moreover, we will also learn about the distinctive features of the payment system, how to use the app in China and outside.

What is AliPay?

What is AliPay? It is the largest payment system in China and one of PayPal’s main competitors in the world. AliPay is in the acquisition of Alibaba Group, the largest Chinese corporation.

Previously, for foreign users, the main function of this payment system was to pay for purchases on aliexpress.com and alibaba.com. However in 2017 AliPay terminated the contract with AliExpress and are no longer a guarantor of seller-buyer transactions on this Internet site.

Since that moment, the main vector of the payment system has changed. The parent company decided to repurpose Alipay and turned it into a system to provide Chinese tourists with the fastest and easiest way to make payments when traveling abroad. Despite the fact that more than 8 million merchants globally accept AliPay for payment, only Chinese citizens can fully use the payment system. That is, to access all functions, you must confirm citizenship.

How to Use AliPay & How Does it Work?

How to use AliPay? It is a mobile application that allows users to make payments as simply and quickly as possible using a digital wallet. You can both download AliPay Wallet on your smartphone or use the web version instead.

You can link your bank card to Alipay, or you can replenish your wallet balance using Western Union, etc. In the latter case, a transaction fee is charged that sometimes can reach up to 1.2%. But it is still much lower than that of PayPal.

To pay for your purchase with AliPay when you checkout in the online store, select the appropriate payment method and confirm the transaction. The convenience is that when paying through the application, you do not need to enter your bank card details every time. They are already stored in the system and pulled from there.

But you can also face some difficulties associated with this. Sometimes a user can encounter the freezing of funds in his digital wallet. And as a result, to withdraw money from the account becomes hardly possible.

For non-Chinese, it is still relevant to create AliPay account if you are going to China on a trip.

In addition, Chinese restaurants and shops around the globe support AliPay, so you can use this system from outside of China. For example, to pay a bill at a Chinese restaurant or shopping at duty-free shops at airports. Though, to be frank, there are not so many of such organizations worldwide.

How to Use AliPay in China?

For the Chinese, AliPay supports the feature of paying via QR codes. And there are two options:

• In the app, the user generates a personal QR code and shows it to the cashier on the smartphone screen. The cashier scans it, after which the money is debited.
• Customers can generate and print a receipt with a QR code using the cash desk, equipped with a special PIN-Pad. To make a payment, the customer then scans the receipt with the app.

In China, the system allows not only to make purchases in physical and online stores. It also offers other functionality that unites various areas of modern life.

So, answering the question of how to use AliPay in China, here is the list of what the Chinese can do with AliPay:

• Buy a tourist ticket.
• Buy train tickets.
• Order a taxi.
• Book a table in a cafe or restaurant.
• Buy cinema tickets.

In addition, for the Chinese, AliPay is also a social network where one can chat with friends, subscribe to their posts, or split the bill at a restaurant. Also here you can find discounts and promotions of nearby stores. Apparently, thanks to such a wide functionality, AliPay registration has become a need for the people of China.

Is AliPay Safe to Use?

What makes AliPay different from other payment systems, is that if the user’s account is hacked by scammers, the platform undertakes to return the entire amount of transactions to the user.

The platform has a month and a half for processing such a refund. And no later than within 5 business days after the application for reimbursement is submitted, the company will make a refund.

Concerning the matter of user data safety, It is also worth noting that AliPay’s parent company Alibaba Group is actively working on innovative solutions, for example, introducing facial payment confirmation. In the future, this will boost the security of user data to the next level.

On the issue of biometric security for mobile payments, AliPay is partnering with Chinese facial recognition startup Megvii, as well as Huawei Technologies.

Alipay Registration Features

Even though AliPay registration is pretty standard, it still has a few moments to remember:

• If you register Alipay as a Chinese citizen, further you will have to provide a Chinese identity card, otherwise in-app operation will not be available to you.
• When bypassing AliPay registration, the primary access key to a digital wallet is your email address.
• Moreover, to verify the account, you will also need to submit a phone number.

How to Verify AliPay Account?

According to the platform’s terms, when you create AliPay account, it is not mandatory to fill out a profile. But it is still recommended to do this to reduce the risks of further possible blocking of the account. To do this, follow the instructions:

1. Go to the “Me” tab which is the rightmost in the lower horizontal menu and click on “Identity Verification” in the settings.
2. First, select your country from the list, and then enter your identity card or foreign passport number, first name, and last name. Next, upload a photo of your identity card.
3. Then, the notification emerges saying that before using the service you need to fill out the profile. Press the blue “Verify now” button at the bottom of the screen.
4. In the form that opens after you have pushed the button, you will need to fill in the name as written in your identity card, your date of birth, then enter the ID number and the expiration date of the document.
5. Next, take a selfie to complete the verification.

To speed up the AliPay registration and verification process, you can also scan your ID to fill out the form automatically. But it is only possible if the document contains data written in Latin letters. To do this, click the “Scan to fill automatically” button and scan the main page of the ID with your smartphone. The system will recognize the data automatically.

How to Use AliPay without a Phone Number?

1. Register PVAPins using an email address or via social network and deposit money to the account balance.
2. On the left, explore the side menu. If you need to rent a virtual phone for a short period, stay on the “Receive SMS” tab.
3. First select the required country from the list and click the “Receive SMS” button next to the required service icon — in our case, it is Alipay.
4. Copy the number from the “History” section at the bottom of the same page and use it to bypass AliPay verification.
5. Then, return to your PVAPins  profile and click the opposite the number.
6. Apply the digit code to verify the AliPay account.