Alipay Tour Pass Not Working — Complete Fix Guide (2025)
You're standing at a checkout counter in China. You open Alipay, scan the QR code, and — payment failed. The cashier is waiting. The line behind you is growing. You try again. Failed again.
Don't panic. This is one of the most common problems foreign travelers face in China, and it's almost always fixable in under 10 minutes.
This guide covers every reason your Alipay Tour Pass might fail and the exact steps to recover — including what you absolutely must NOT do.
Why Your Alipay Tour Pass Failed
There are five common reasons your payment was declined. Understanding which one hit you determines the fix.
1. Daily Transaction Limit Reached
Alipay Tour Pass has strict limits for foreign users:
- Per transaction: ¥5,000 maximum
- Daily total: ¥5,000 across all transactions
- Annual cap: ¥50,000
If you've already spent ¥4,800 today and try to pay ¥500, it will fail — even though each transaction is under the limit. The daily cap is cumulative.
How to check: Open Alipay → Tour Pass → View Balance. If your available amount shows ¥0 or near-zero, you've hit the daily limit.
When it resets: Midnight Beijing time (UTC+8). Not midnight in your home timezone.
2. Passport Verification Incomplete
Alipay requires real-name verification for Tour Pass to function. If your verification is:
- Pending — submitted but not yet approved (can take 1-24 hours)
- Rejected — photo was blurry, name didn't match card, or passport expired
- Not started — you set up Tour Pass but skipped verification
Your payment will be silently declined without a useful error message.
How to check: Alipay → Me → My Profile → Identity Verification. Status should show "Verified."
3. VPN Is Active
This catches almost every first-time visitor to China. Here's why:
Alipay's risk control system checks your IP address during transactions. If you're connected to a VPN, your IP shows as being in another country (say, the US). But your phone's GPS and the merchant's location say you're in Shanghai. This mismatch triggers an automatic fraud block.
The fix is simple: Turn off your VPN before opening Alipay. Complete the payment. Turn VPN back on after.
This is the single most common reason for payment failures among foreign tourists in China.
4. International Card Issue
Your linked international Visa or Mastercard may be causing the problem:
- Issuing bank blocked the charge — many banks flag China transactions as suspicious by default
- Card expired or approaching expiration — some banks pre-block cards within 60 days of expiry
- Insufficient funds — Tour Pass pre-authorizes the full daily limit, not just the transaction amount
- 3D Secure verification failed — your bank sent an SMS to your home number, which you can't receive on a Chinese SIM
Before your trip: Call your bank and tell them you'll be using your card in China through Alipay. This prevents automatic fraud blocks.
5. Network Issues
Underground locations (subway stations, basement malls, parking garages) often have weak cellular signal. Alipay requires a network connection to process each transaction — there's no offline mode for Tour Pass.
If you're underground:
- Move to an area with better signal
- Switch between WiFi and cellular data
- Wait 30 seconds and retry once
Immediate Fix — Step by Step
Follow these steps in order. Most people solve their problem by Step 3.
Step 1: Check Your Balance and Daily Limit
Open Alipay → Tour Pass → tap "Balance."
- If balance is near ¥0: you've hit the daily limit. Skip to Step 5 (cash backup).
- If balance is available: the problem is something else. Continue to Step 2.
Time: 30 seconds
Step 2: Disable Your VPN
Open your phone's Settings → VPN → toggle OFF.
Or open your VPN app and disconnect.
Wait 10 seconds after disconnecting before retrying the payment. Alipay may cache your previous IP for a few seconds.
Retry the payment.
Time: 30 seconds
Step 3: Try a Smaller Amount
If you're making a large purchase (over ¥1,000), try splitting it into smaller payments. Tour Pass sometimes blocks single large transactions from newer accounts even when the daily limit isn't reached.
Ask the merchant: "可以分开付吗？" (Kěyǐ fēnkāi fù ma?) — "Can I split the payment?"
Time: 1 minute
Step 4: Switch to WeChat Pay
If Alipay won't cooperate, WeChat Pay is your backup. Most merchants in China accept both.
Open WeChat → Me → Pay → Scan the merchant's QR code.
WeChat Pay has its own separate daily limit, so hitting the Alipay cap doesn't affect WeChat.
Time: 1 minute
Step 5: Use Cash
Cash still works everywhere in China — merchants are legally required to accept it.
Show this to the cashier:
我的手机支付有问题。我可以用现金付款吗？
Wǒ de shǒujī zhīfù yǒu wèntí. Wǒ kěyǐ yòng xiànjīn fùkuǎn ma?
"My mobile payment has a problem. Can I pay with cash?"
If you don't have cash, find the nearest ATM:
- Bank of China (中国银行) — most reliable for international cards, found on every major street
- ICBC (工商银行) — largest bank in China, ATMs everywhere
- Any ATM with the "Visa" or "Mastercard" logo on the machine
Withdraw ¥500–1,000. This is your emergency backup.
Time: 5–10 minutes (including walking to ATM)
What NOT to Do
These mistakes will make your situation worse:
❌ Don't Retry More Than 3 Times
Each failed attempt is logged. Five or more failures in quick succession triggers Alipay's risk control system, which can lock your account for 24 hours. Three attempts is the safe maximum.
❌ Don't Uninstall and Reinstall Alipay
You will lose your Tour Pass configuration and may need to redo passport verification — which takes up to 24 hours. Your payment history and linked card information may also need to be set up again.
❌ Don't Share Your Payment QR with Anyone
In tourist areas, scammers may offer to "help" by asking to see your QR code. Your payment QR is essentially your wallet. Never show it to strangers.
❌ Don't Panic-Buy a New SIM Mid-Transaction
Some travelers think switching to a Chinese SIM will fix Alipay. It won't — Tour Pass is linked to your passport, not your phone number. And the disruption of switching SIMs mid-crisis can cause WeChat or other apps to trigger their own security locks.
Emergency Chinese Phrases
Save these on your phone or screenshot them before you need them:
| Situation | Chinese | Pinyin | English | |-----------|---------|--------|---------| | Payment failed | 我的支付失败了 | Wǒ de zhīfù shībài le | My payment failed | | Can I use cash? | 可以用现金吗？ | Kěyǐ yòng xiànjīn ma? | Can I pay with cash? | | Where's an ATM? | 附近有ATM吗？ | Fùjìn yǒu ATM ma? | Is there an ATM nearby? | | Bank of China | 中国银行在哪里？ | Zhōngguó Yínháng zài nǎlǐ? | Where is Bank of China? | | Help me please | 请帮帮我 | Qǐng bāng bāng wǒ | Please help me |
Prevent This From Happening Again
The best way to handle a payment crisis is to never have one. Before your next day out:
- Check your Tour Pass balance every morning — know your remaining daily limit
- Keep VPN off by default — only turn it on when you specifically need it
- Carry ¥500 cash at all times — this is your permanent emergency backup
- Have both Alipay AND WeChat Pay set up — never rely on just one
- Tell your bank you're in China — prevents automatic fraud blocks
Still Not Fixed?
If none of the above steps worked, your Tour Pass may have a deeper configuration issue. Use our China Crisis Playbook for advanced troubleshooting, or run the Risk Scanner to identify what else might go wrong before your next outing.
Last updated: February 2025. Alipay policies change frequently — we monitor and update this guide monthly.