How to Use TenPayGo in China: Sign Up, Link a Card, Pay

What TenPayGo is

Tencent launched TenPayGo on September 24, 2026 for people visiting China. It isn't WeChat. It's a separate app that pays at shops that accept WeChat Pay. You pay with a foreign card, Apple Pay or a supported overseas e-wallet; Chinese bank cards can't be used.

The app is in English and has two tabs: Pay, for your cards and payment codes, and Go, for the Shenzhen transit card, a driver translation tool and tax refunds (Shenzhen only).

Get it from the App Store or Google Play. The developer is Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited. It's in app stores in more than 30 countries, so you can set it up before you fly.

Sign up with just an email

1. Open the app and enter your email. Tick the box to agree to the terms and tap Next. There's also a Skip button if you want to look around first.

2. Enter the code TenPayGo emails you.

3. Draw a gesture password (a pattern on nine dots), then draw it again to confirm.

It didn't ask for a phone number, passport, name, nationality or a face scan.

Link a card or Apple Pay

The setup screen shows the seven card networks TenPayGo accepts: Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Diners Club and Discover. The card has to be issued outside mainland China.

How it went with my card, a Mastercard from Monzo, a UK bank:

1. On the Pay tab, I opened Bank Card and entered the card details.

2. My bank's security check (Mastercard ID Check) opened and asked me to approve in the Monzo app. The amount was ¥0.00. The merchant showed as "Weixin Firefly" on the check and as "Tencent" in my banking app. Nothing was charged.

3. TenPayGo then asked me to set a 6-digit payment PIN. This is separate from the gesture password.

Apple Pay: tap the + under Apple Pay.

Once linked, each payment method gets its own Pay code button.

Pay at a shop: scan or show your code

The app shows two ways to pay, the same as WeChat Pay:

• Scan to pay: tap the scan button (bottom right), scan the shop's WeChat Pay QR code, check the amount and confirm.

• Show your code: tap Pay code under the card or Apple Pay you want to use and let the cashier scan it. You can switch the payment method on the code screen. Then confirm on your phone.

My test, October 25, 2026: I paid ¥4.90 at a shop in Dongguan by showing my payment code. After the cashier scanned it, TenPayGo showed a confirmation screen with the shop's name, the amount, an International Card Fee line and the card it would charge. I tapped Pay and it went through.

Never send a photo of your payment code to anyone: whoever scans it can take a payment.

Fees

• Linking a card: my bank's check was for ¥0.00.

• Paying: on my ¥4.90 payment, the International Card Fee line showed ¥0.00, with ¥0.15 (3%) crossed out, so no fee was charged. TenPayGo runs on Weixin Pay, and for foreign cards Weixin Pay and Alipay generally charge no fee on payments of ¥200 or less; above ¥200, a 3% fee may apply to the whole amount (Shanghai government, September 2026). The fee line appears before you tap Pay, so check it on bigger payments.

• Your bank may add its own foreign transaction fee.

Shenzhen metro and buses: the Transit Card

In the Go tab, open Bus & Metro → Transit Card. You'll see a Shenzhen Transit Card (深圳通, Shenzhen Tong). To start using it, top up ¥50, ¥100 or ¥200. The app says at least ¥35 (about US$5) has to stay on the card, enough for the highest single-trip fare in Shenzhen.

Shenzhen's government said the service would be fully available in October 2026, and that you don't need a Chinese phone number or a physical card. After topping up, you scan the code to ride Shenzhen's metro and buses.

I didn't top up, so I can't tell you yet how leftover balance is refunded.

Other cities: TenPayGo has no transit code there yet. In Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen you can tap a contactless Visa or Mastercard at the metro gate; elsewhere, use Alipay's ride code.

Overseas e-wallets

If you use one of these wallets at home, you can pay Weixin Pay QR codes with it. On October 24, 2026, the list in the app had 12: Starryblu, BCEL One, Hipay, MoMo, ShopeePay Singapore, ShopeePay Thailand, Travel Wallet, Zalopay, KB Star Banking, LiquidPay, Octopus and Shinhan SOL Pay. GDToday's launch report said about 60 are expected by the end of 2026.

I don't use any of these wallets, so I couldn't test a payment with one.

What else is in the Go tab

• Taxi & Ride: the only button is Translate with Driver. To book a ride, use DiDi or Amap: paying for DiDi with a foreign card · booking a taxi in Amap.

• Bus & Metro: the Shenzhen Transit Card above.

• Tax Refund: "Available in Shenzhen only", according to the app.

TenPayGo, Alipay or WeChat Pay?

My advice: make Alipay your main app and add TenPayGo as the backup for shops that only take WeChat Pay. It's most useful if WeChat won't let you sign up: WeChat verification without a friend's QR code.

Linking a card in WeChat itself? Fees, limits and the PayPal option: WeChat Pay for foreigners.