Alipay Passport Verification Failed

Draft: not yet verified in the live app. Fees, limits, and menus change—confirm on the in-app payment screen and in the provider’s official Help.

The path is Me → Settings → Account & Security → Identity Verification. Choose Passport, photograph the bio page, then complete the live face scan. Approval is often 1–5 minutes and occasionally up to 24 hours. Until it says approved, you stay on the low visitor tier: about a ¥5,000 per-payment ceiling, and train tickets plus some hotels can refuse you. The happy path is step 3 of Alipay for visitors.

Verification stuck

The usual causes are a glared or cropped passport photo, or a name that does not match the passport character for character — including middle names and hyphens. Reshoot the bio page flat, in daylight, with all four corners in the frame and no flash hotspot.

Face scan fails again and again

Backlight, glasses, a hat, or a busy server hour will loop the scan. Use natural light, take glasses off, and fill the circle with your face. Retry outside mainland business hours rather than submitting every minute.

Illustrated Alipay notice asking for a clearer passport photo Illustrated screen, not a photograph of the app.

The form, when you resubmit

The illustration uses a made-up name and document number. Type your own. The same spelling has to match the bank card.

After the status says approved, link the card if you have not ([setup](/pay/set-up-alipay-foreigner/#ali-card)). If payments still decline, open [payment failed](/pay/troubleshoot/alipay-payment-failed/). The ceiling difference is on [limits](/pay/troubleshoot/alipay-foreigner-limit/).

Do not open a second Alipay account to get around a stuck review. Fix this one. Do not use someone else’s passport.

Illustrated Alipay passport form with sample identity fields Illustrated screen, not a photograph of the app.

How to capture evidence (helps support)

If you contact wallet support or your bank:

Screenshot the exact error text (English or Chinese).
Note the time in China Standard Time (UTC+8) once you are in mainland China.
Mask the passport number and any card number before you send images anywhere public.
Keep the merchant name and approximate amount if a payment also failed.

Do not post live QR codes or full passport pages on social media.

When to stop retrying

Two careful uploads are enough. Wait out the 24-hour window rather than locking the queue. Pay that day with WeChat Pay or cash (the Alipay field report’s floor is ¥300–500 in small notes).

Source note

The passport-plus-selfie path follows Alipay’s in-app help centre and international-version guidance. Confirm the status in the app. China Arrive is not affiliated with Ant Group or Alipay.

FAQ

Can I use a driver’s licence instead?
Use the document list the screen shows. For a visitor, that is almost always the passport.

What happens if I skip verification?
You can still link a card, on the low tier. Expect the smaller ceiling, and expect some train and hotel mini programs to refuse the account.