Visiting Europe from China: paying, finding your way and getting online
In Europe, Alipay works at merchants that accept Alipay+, and WeChat Pay only where the shop's payment provider has partnered with it, so carry a card that works abroad as well. Before leaving, check that your phone takes an eSIM, because many sold in mainland China do not, and install the map, train and messaging apps you will need while you still can, since some are missing from app stores there.
See the Europe eSIMFirst, check that the phone takes an eSIM
Apple sells many iPhones in mainland China with two nano-SIM slots and no eSIM, and only a few recent models sold there support one. Our article on phones bought in China or Hong Kong goes through the models; the quick test is to look for an EID under Settings, General, About. Without an EID, a European data eSIM cannot be installed.
A dual nano-SIM phone still has options: your Chinese card in one slot and a European physical SIM in the other, as compared in physical SIM vs eSIM, or a travel companion's hotspot, explained in sharing mobile data with another phone.
One eSIM for 33 European countries
Several countries on one trip? Same eSIM, same data, no swapping lines at the border.
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For one to two weeks of maps, messaging and the odd video.
Buy up to 180 days before you fly: the plan only starts when the eSIM connects at your destination.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
Alipay: look for the Alipay+ mark
Abroad, Alipay works through Alipay+, the cross-border network run by Ant International, which lists Alipay among its partner wallets. Alipay+ tells travellers to pay wherever they see the Alipay+ logo at the checkout and describes two ways to do it: scan the merchant's payment code with the wallet, enter the amount and confirm, or open a cross-border payment code in the wallet and show it for the merchant to scan.
Because it hinges on that logo, acceptance is decided shop by shop: a department store may take it while the café next door does not. Keep data on when you reach the till, and carry a card for everywhere else; our guide to paying with your phone abroad covers card wallets.
WeChat Pay: it depends on the shop's payment provider
WeChat Pay reaches shops outside mainland China through licensed financial institutions that become its overseas partners and offer merchants the service, as its guide for those institutions explains. The same guide lists most European countries among the supported regions, from France, Germany, Italy and Spain to the Nordic countries, with the euro and the pound among the settlement currencies.
A supported region means a shop there can accept WeChat Pay, not that it does. Whether a particular shop takes it depends on whether its payment provider offers it, so ask before you queue, and keep Alipay or a card as a backup. WeChat itself keeps working as a messenger over the European eSIM's data, with your account and contacts unchanged.
Maps that know European public transport
Apple Maps gives public transport directions across most of Western Europe: Apple's feature availability list includes France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria and Belgium, among others, plus the cities of Lisbon, Porto and Budapest. Google Maps also covers European transport, if you can install it on your phone.
Download offline maps of your first city before you fly, with Apple Maps offline or Google Maps offline, so the walk from the station works even before the eSIM connects. If you rely on a Chinese map app, open the European city you are visiting in it at home and see how much detail it has there before counting on it.
Install the apps before you leave
Some apps you may want in Europe are not in the app stores used in mainland China. Apple, for example, removed WhatsApp from its App Store there on the order of China's internet regulator, and a hotel or a holiday-flat host in Europe may well message you on it. On an Android phone without Google Play, Google's own apps have to come from another source or not at all.
Check at home which apps you can install, and install them while the store and your usual connection are at hand. For trains between cities, the national operators have their own apps, such as SNCF Connect in France, DB Navigator in Germany, Trenitalia in Italy and Renfe in Spain; whether their tickets open without signal is covered in mobile transport tickets offline, and taxis by app in ride-hailing apps when you land.
Two lines while you are in Europe
A European data eSIM gives you internet, not a number. Your Chinese line stays in the phone for calls and texts, including verification codes sent by SMS, while the eSIM handles the data. Set mobile data to the eSIM and turn data roaming off on the Chinese line, so it stays reachable without using data abroad; the dual SIM guide walks through it.
Snoozim's Europe pack covers 33 countries on one eSIM, the United Kingdom and Switzerland included, and starts counting at its first connection there, so you can install it at home on Wi-Fi. In an emergency anywhere in the EU, dial 112.
Can I pay with Alipay in Europe?
Yes, at merchants that accept Alipay+, which lists Alipay among its partner wallets. Look for the Alipay+ logo at the checkout and carry a card for other shops.
Does WeChat Pay work in Europe?
In some shops. WeChat Pay lists most European countries as supported regions, but a shop only accepts it if its payment provider offers it.
Which map apps work for public transport in Europe?
Apple Maps gives transport directions in most Western European countries, and Google Maps covers Europe too if you can install it on your phone.
Does a phone bought in mainland China take a European eSIM?
Only if it has an EID. Many iPhones sold there have two nano-SIM slots and no eSIM.
Do I keep my Chinese number with a European data eSIM?
Yes. The eSIM only carries data, so your Chinese line stays in the phone for calls and texts.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See the Europe eSIM