China as a Tourist: Money?
Visiting from the US for about 3 weeks. My main concern is how money will work. I understand that China is an almost totally cashless society, but most people pay with digital apps (WePay and AliPay).
While traveling, I normally pull all the cash I need in USD while stateside then exchange on the ground in whatever country I’m traveling to. This is specifically to eliminate my need to rely on the US banking system while abroad. On multiple occasions, I’ve been left stranded abroad because my bank flagged legit transactions as fraud. Since almost all US banks rely on SMS-based authentication, and I swap my US sim for a local one on the ground, I’m unable to authenticate and clear the block assuming I can even dial out of the country to reach the bank in the first place.
What options do I have here? Should I:
A. Link my us bankcard to one of these apps and hope for the best?
B. Still bring USD cash and try to exchange for RMB in China?
C. Something else I’m not thinking of?
Basic goal is to be able to move around conveniently, but without running the risk of being stranded if the bank decides not to cooperate. My bank doesn’t offer travel notifications because “their automated fraud detection systems…blah blah blah”
Separately, how do most Chinese people navigate this scenario? In the US, most people don’t carry cash unless they specifically need to. Direct deposit connects your paycheck directly to your bank card. Is this also the case for Chinese citizens?
Sorry for so long a post, but thanks!