Lost phone or blocked card
Your phone is your wallet in China. Here's how to protect your money if you lose it.
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This page is past its review date and may be out of date. Please check the official sources below before you rely on it.
If you lose your phone
- Block your cards. Call your bank (or use your banking app on another device) and block the cards linked to Alipay and WeChat Pay.
- Secure your payment apps. From another phone or computer, use Alipay's and WeChat's official help pages to freeze or protect your account.
- Lock or erase the phone with your phone maker's find-my-device service.
- Report it to the police if it was stolen — your insurer will usually need a police report.
- Get back online. Buy a new SIM or eSIM so you can use payment apps again (see SIM card or eSIM).
Meanwhile, use your back-up cash and the paper copy of your hotel's address.
If your card is blocked
Banks sometimes block a card after a payment in China because it looks unusual.
- Approve the payment or unblock the card in your bank app, or call your bank.
- Switch to your second card or the other payment app while you sort it out — see If a payment fails.