Registering for an Alipay Account
For most of you, this will not be a necessary step.
If you followed the directions in our guide to signing up for Taobao, and left the final checkbox checked, then you will already have an Alipay account created for you automatically. But if you do need to sign up for Alipay account independent of Taobao, then check this out.
First, let’s confirm that you don’t already have an Alipay account
Go to the Alipay registration page. Type in the email address you used to register for Taobao and click the button.
Here is what you might see after clicking that button:
- Red – Stop! You are already registered on Alipay. That’s good. If you see this, click here for our guide on figuring out your Alipay account.
- Blue – You are not registered on Alipay. Please continue with the registration form.
Alipay’s registration form
When registering for Alipay seperately, it will ask for more info than when you signed up for Taobao. They will want your ID (passport) number and a phone number. Let’s take a look.
Some tips on the first part of the form:
- For numbers 1, to and 3, you enter in the same thing twice to confirm against typos.
- Your passwords in 2 and 3 cannot match!
- Number 4 is a security question. The default is asking for your Dad’s and Mom’s names. Remember what you type.
Okay, take a breath. Now the rest of the form.
Some notes on the second part of the form
- Passport 护照 is the second option
- Enter your mobile phone number. Or another contact phone number. They only need one.
Time to check your email
The next screen will tell you that you need to confirm your email address. Go to your email.
You will receive an email that looks like this. (Check your spam folder if you don’t see it.) Click on the circled link.
Since my name is not really Marty McFly, I did not click through. But when you click the link, you will see this success screen.
You’ve done it!
That’s one of the more difficult forms Taobao will throw at you, but you did a great job. Now you can take a look around Alipay – check out our guide to the Alipay Control Panel.
More questions?
If you have any more questions, you can check out the official walkthrough (in Chinese, but still very intuitive) or ask us in the comments below.
hi,if i’m an international buyer but i have a china bank account (i set up one the last time round i went there) , in the passport section, what do i fill up?
thank you!
Hi Daf, for registering for an Alipay account, you still fill in your correct passport number following this guide, because you don’t have a Chinese ID card. Chinese bank account is only needed if you want to recharge your Alipay account with your bank account balance. Since every bank’s online portal is different and they changes constantly, TFG currently don’t have any guide on how to do this. If you know a little Chinese, here’s a Chinese guide on how to charge your Alipay account using your bank balance, the example bank used here is ICBC bank.
Can I use alipay and make payments from a bank in the USA?
After following the directions, I got this warning message.
X 对不起，请不要重复提交请求。 请回到原始页面重新刷新
Does it say my computer is going to blow up? Help!
hi Yemi, Alipay currently doesn’t support paying from foreign banks. if you’re located outside China, you’ll have to use an agent to buy stuff for you.
Hey guys, thanks for the great work. This guide is amazing, kudos for it. I have assembled a howto with some extra tips, just in case. I think you’ll love to take a look at it: http://fb.cityweekend.com.cn/Intro
Can i pay the stuff by using Paypal account ?
Hi Julie, Taobao currently doesn’t support Paypal.
Hi there,
I’m from Malaysia and there’s a Bank of China branch here. If I open an account with the local Bank of China branch here, will I still be able to use Alipay for payments and refunds?
Hope to hear from you soon. Thanks!
Sorry, we’re not very sure about this. Maybe you can inquire with the bank. As far as I know, Bank of China in mainland China has this service. It even has a Taobao themed credit card here. Not sure if this service is available at oversea branches.
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