Alipay says my ID is validated but not authenticated. Can I still pay?

We found no public Alipay page that defines these status labels, so read the explanation in your own app first. What its own terms do say: under the user agreement for paying with an overseas bank card, you submit card details for the card network to check and, before the first card payment, your passport details. Once the service is open and your passport details have passed verification, you can pay merchants in mainland China with that card. Alipay does not explain the two labels, so this is our inference: 'validated' (已核验) most likely means you have passed that check.

Authentication (认证) is a further identity check. An old Alipay help page for the desktop website, on authentication for users from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas (online since at least 2018), describes it as a second step after the identity details are filled in: either a check with a bank card, which must be issued in mainland China, or a face scan. A 2018 English copy of the same steps adds that face scanning was then open only to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan residents with a Mainland Travel Permit. The page also says overseas users who want to complete their identity details and unlock more account features can upload the passport's photo page and the page with the entry stamp. The current app may differ; follow the prompts you see.

Not verified at all: the People's Bank of China says no ID information is needed for mobile payments under a certain amount. In March 2024 Ant Group told CNBC that the figure was US$2,000 a year in Alipay without registering an ID. Alipay has not published that figure on a page we could read, so treat it as a reported number and verify your passport before a trip.

Limits: the official ceiling for foreign visitors is US$5,000 per payment and US$50,000 a year, and Alipay's card terms say it sets its own payment limits and shows them on the payment page. Your card issuer's limits apply on top. See card limits and fees for the full picture, and binding a foreign card for setup.

Fees do not depend on the label. Alipay's service-charge rules (version of 23 August 2025) charge nothing on an international-card payment of ¥200 or less and 3% on a payment above ¥200.

If a payment or a mini-program asks for more verification, follow that prompt or use another way to pay. For help, use customer service inside the app; the government's payment guide lists Alipay's English line as +86 571 2688 6000.