DavyJonesLocker Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:49 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:49 PM 29 minutes ago, mungouk said: I'm not sure where this idea comes from (I'm sure everything changes regularly), but the version I have installed on my phone came from the UK Apple app store, and I'm successfully using WeChat with a wallet, hong baos, etc here in Beijing. years ago this was the case . I originally used wechat in UK with an email , not a phone number but when I came to China in 20!4 you couldn't use all the features however after installing the mainland version and adding a phone number then all appeared. Of course things change so much it's hard to keep up with developments. I know others changed language settings to Chinese and then back to English, only then did other features appear. Think there was a few posts away back about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:50 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:50 PM Thanks for your help @Weyland. I don't need or want to use the wallet. I have no idea who in the UK would even know what it was never mind accept payment form it. I don't have a passport, I could get one but have no need. I am on android. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungouk Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:51 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:51 PM Yes @DavyJonesLocker I think that's right. It seems like things change with every new release of the APP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weyland Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:57 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:57 PM 5 minutes ago, Shelley said: I have no idea who in the UK would even know what it was never mind accept payment form it. Chinese restaurants, Chinese stores, other Chinese, friends on your WeChat (long-distance birthday gift), buying e-Books, buying apps, etc. I mean, it's just money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
889 Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:58 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 03:58 PM No. Accounts with Mainland banks opened at branches outside the Mainland cannot be used for the necessary real-name verification. And so far as I know -- and I am very happy to be shown wrong on this point -- WeChat/AliPay accounts verified with a foreign passport cannot be used to make payments outside Mainland China. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weyland Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:10 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:10 PM 10 minutes ago, 889 said: WeChat/AliPay accounts verified with a foreign passport cannot be used to make payments outside Mainland China. I registered my account in Beijing. And I've always been able to pay, and I've paid for a lot of different nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungouk Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:16 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:16 PM 5 minutes ago, Weyland said: I registered my account in Beijing. And I've always been able to pay, and I've paid for a lot of different nonsense. Was that recently? They've changed the rules very recently (this year). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:20 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 04:20 PM We chat couldnt be used in Europe (for citizens opening an account in Europe) due to the banking, finance regulations. It would never get a financial license to do so either due to the nature of the app and it's lack of auditing. It's a complex area of regulatory environment . Money just has to flow through a European, UK banking payment system for it be eligible for European/uk regulations. USA systems are even far more outreaching . For example a chinese bank account opened in europe is subject to European law and Chinese law. 19 minutes ago, Weyland said: I registered my account in Beijing. And I've always been able to pay, and I've paid for a lot of different nonsense. Yes because you opened it in China. I have used we chat pay in Japan this year. Never used it in Europe but perhaps paying a restaurant staff directly by scanning their QR code is possible I'd imagine. You're still using the weixin payment intermediary. The whole regulatory area has become a mine field due to flexibility of payments systems . The Americans take a real hard core approach to it due to terrorism money laundering, financial crime etc. Even if you use any American entity or USD currency youre in hot water. Ive been on that many regulatory course in banking over the years and by the time the rule comes out technology has moved on. E.g bit coins , using servers outside a countries domain, 3rd party financial intermediaries and so on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weyland Posted September 29, 2019 at 05:04 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 05:04 PM 43 minutes ago, mungouk said: Was that recently? Pre-Trump presidency. But, with an American passport. 41 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said: We chat couldnt be used in Europe (for citizens opening an account in Europe) due to the banking, finance regulations. I find that very odd. I deposit cash at the Bank of China, Euros, and get RMB deposited on my Chinese account. Which I use in the Netherlands, and when paying for Mainland-based services. Anyway, I would just go to the Bank of China and ask them your(their)selves when opening an account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted September 29, 2019 at 05:08 PM Report Share Posted September 29, 2019 at 05:08 PM 1 hour ago, Weyland said: Chinese restaurants, Chinese stores, other Chinese, friends on your WeChat (long-distance birthday gift), buying e-Books, buying apps, etc. As I don't do any of these things it really isn't worth my while. I never eat out, have no chinese friends and no friends on wechat. I don't buy ebooks or apps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyJonesLocker Posted September 30, 2019 at 12:54 AM Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 at 12:54 AM 7 hours ago, Weyland said: I find that very odd. I deposit cash at the Bank of China, Euros, and get RMB deposited on my Chinese account. Which I use in the Netherlands, and when paying for Mainland-based services. Yes but are you using we chat pay to pay for goodss and services in Euros, GBP, in Europe, as mentioned in Shelly example? I'm referring to buying goods in Europe, using Euro or sterling . Buying things on taobao using a RMB account in Europe might be fine , not sure on that, but certainly the Chinese bank in Europe needs to comply to all online payment regulations I'd imagine some sort of wechat international might be set up one day like apple pay.as Europe are behind the times on mobile payment facilities. Also I should say I'm at 5 years out of these environment so maybe things have changed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
889 Posted September 30, 2019 at 01:25 AM Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 at 01:25 AM I somehow thought that the State Administration of Foreign Exchange ("SAFE") now keeps tracks of overseas spending and withdrawals, and that SAFE is set up only to track Chinese IDs, not passport numbers. Thus Unionpay and WeChat/Alipay accounts not opened with Chinese IDs can't be used overseas. But I'm not saying this as Gospel. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weyland Posted October 1, 2019 at 11:34 AM Report Share Posted October 1, 2019 at 11:34 AM On 9/30/2019 at 2:54 AM, DavyJonesLocker said: Yes but are you using we chat pay to pay for goodss and services in Euros, GBP, in Europe, as mentioned in Shelly example? When it comes to brick and mortar locations in Europe; I've paid with both WeChat and Alipay. For the former, I don't know whether it has always been in RMB or not. I've been using my 支付宝 (Alipay) quite a bit more often than my WeChat due to some of the QR-codes that hang at the cash register only accepting that. Though, I've certainly paid with both. Again, my personal experience might clash with someone else's. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Members FTerrier17 Posted February 6, 2020 at 08:55 PM New Members Report Share Posted February 6, 2020 at 08:55 PM Hello, I have a similar problem to the above. I lived in China for 6 months but moved back to the UK and kinda forgot about WeChat. I now really want to contact an old friend but it says my account is protected due to not logging in for a period of time. I have tried the login help but I no longer have the sim card and the phone number needs to be Chinese to verify the account. Is there anything I can do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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