WeChat Pay and Alipay QR codes — how China's closed loops work

WeChat Pay and Alipay run China's two dominant QR payment systems as closed loops — their codes are proprietary app links rather than open EMVCo payloads, and only their own apps can pay them. Both offer merchant-presented and consumer-presented modes, and both now let foreign visitors link international cards.

The closed-loop model

China went cashless on QR codes years before most national schemes existed — but through two private ecosystems, not an open standard. A WeChat Pay merchant code typically encodes a proprietary wxp:// string; an Alipay code, an https://qr.alipay.com/... link. Neither is an EMVCo merchant-presented payload: a WeChat code means nothing to Alipay and vice versa, and no bank app pays either. The code is a door into one company's ecosystem.

Contrast the open model: in Brazil any bank app pays any PIX code; in Indonesia the regulator mandated one format precisely to end wallet-specific stickers. China is the market that pattern was reacting to — counters carry both companies' stickers because carrying one means losing the other's users.

The two scan directions

Both systems run the same two modes, and Chinese daily life uses both constantly:

Merchant-presented ("you scan"): the merchant displays a code — from an enterprise till system down to the laminated personal receiving code a noodle stall tapes to the counter. The payer scans in-app, enters or confirms the amount, and pays. Setting up a personal receiving code requires only an account — which is how QR acceptance reached street vendors with zero hardware.
Consumer-presented ("they scan"): the customer opens their app's payment screen, which shows a rotating barcode-and-QR; the cashier scans it with a till scanner and the charge is pushed to the phone. This is the supermarket-checkout mode, and the general pattern — short-lived tokens, merchant-initiated — is the same one EMVCo specifies openly.

Around the payment sits the real moat: mini-programs, in-chat commerce, transport, bills and government services, all inside the same two apps. The QR code is the visible tip of an ecosystem lock-in that no open scheme replicates.

What a foreign visitor can actually do

For years the honest answer was "very little" — both systems required a Chinese bank account, and visitors hit a wall. That changed materially: since 2023 both Alipay and WeChat Pay allow foreign visitors to register with an international Visa or Mastercard and pay at Chinese merchants through the normal QR flows, with identity verification and transaction limits applying, and small payments streamlined. Practical notes, framed cautiously because programme details shift:

Set the app up before you need it — registration and card verification take time.
Expect limits on transaction and cumulative amounts, and occasional merchant-side refusals on foreign-card payments.
Cash remains legal tender and card acceptance outside hotels and large retail is thin; the QR apps are genuinely the primary rail.

Check the current requirements in the apps themselves rather than trusting third-party summaries, including this one, to stay current.

The lesson for everyone else

The duopoly proved QR payments at civilisational scale — and its closed-loop structure is what nearly every regulator since has legislated against, from QRIS to interoperability mandates across ASEAN. Network effects built the system; the open standards generation is an explicit attempt to get the adoption without the lock-in.

FAQ

Can a bank app or foreign wallet scan a WeChat Pay or Alipay code?

No. The codes are proprietary — wxp:// strings and qr.alipay.com links readable only by their own ecosystems. Payment from outside happens only through each company's own visitor programmes or partnership arrangements.

What is the difference between the two QR modes in China?

Merchant-presented: the shop shows a static or till-generated code and you scan it. Consumer-presented: your app shows a rotating code and the cashier scans you. Supermarkets use the second; street vendors the first.

Can tourists pay with WeChat Pay or Alipay?

Yes, since 2023 both accept international Visa and Mastercard registration for visitors, with verification and limits. Set up before travelling and expect occasional friction; requirements change, so check the apps directly.

Are WeChat and Alipay codes EMVCo codes?

Domestically, no — they are proprietary payloads, which is exactly what makes the systems closed loops. The consumer-presented pattern they popularised does, however, exist as an open EMVCo specification used elsewhere.