How to add a Chinese metro card to Apple Wallet as a foreigner?

Question

Apple Wallet has the ability to store Chinese travel cards (reference). However, a China UnionPay credit or debit card is required, which a foreigner is unlikely to have or have difficulty obtaining. To get around this, there have been reports that it's possible to acquire a metro card in Alipay then add it to Apple Wallet with the following steps^{(1, 2, 3, 4)}:

1. Sign up to Alipay (and pass any identity verification).
2. Install the "NFC交通卡" mini-app in Alipay.
3. Open this mini-app and choose a metro card.
4. Top-up the balance.

After this point, there should the option somewhere to add the card to Apple Wallet.

I was able to sign up to Alipay and install the NFC交通卡 mini-app. However, I'm having trouble actually signing up for a metro card. I've tried a random selection of cities' cards, each unsuccessfully. Each card posed a different problem, including:

• A non-Chinese phone number not being accepted.
• A Chinese mainland bank account needing to be linked.
• The app saying sign up was successful but nothing actually happening.

Before I expend the effort of trying every single card, has anyone been able to add a metro card in Apple Wallet as a foreigner successfully? If you did, what did you do?

NOTE: I am aware there are other ways to pay for the metro such as buying physical tickets/cards/tokens or using a QR code. This question solely concerns the NFC option.

Answer 1

So I tried every single card. The card for Jinhua works for me!

Here are the steps I'd recommend to get it:

1. After successfully signing up for Alipay, search for the 雪球交通卡 mini-app (lit. "Snowball Transportation Card"). This mini-app has the card for Jinhua. It's also accessible via the NFC交通卡 mini-app but it just links to the card in the 雪球交通卡 mini-app.
2. Tap Add traffic card.
3. In the list, select Jinhua Citizen Card / 金华市民卡. It is gold in colour.
4. Follow the sign-up process. It will include accepting terms and topping up the balance. At some point there will be the option to add the card to Apple Wallet.

Some notable things:

• I'd recommend trying to acquire the card for the city/cities you'll be visiting to see if it works for you. Local cards may offer discounts for local networks. For example, the Jinhua card offers 10%–20% discounts on certain services local to Jinhua. If you aren't able to acquire them, then try the Jinhua card. It will be usable in the city/cities you're visiting if they're part of the T-union network.
• Even with the card added to Apple Wallet, it cannot be topped up there without a China UnionPay credit or debit card. You will need to go to the 雪球交通卡 mini-app in Alipay to recharge the balance.
• If you head back into the 雪球交通卡 mini-app and it looks like your card is gone, check if the location setting is a city in China (important for foreigners who acquire the card outside of China). The app only shows the card if it can be used in the city selected. Change the city to one in China and your card should appear.

All other cards did not work for me, although you may have a different experience. Here's what I encountered for each card:

Area	Problem
Beijing Beijing seems to have its own mini-app for its travel card.	Using Alipay Quick Login Message saying "operation successful" but nothing actually happens. Using mobile phone number login There is an input for your phone number to receive a verification code. A non-Chinese phone number does not seem to be accepted.
Shanghai Shanghai seems to have its own mini-app for its travel card.	Your phone number seems to be automatically read from your profile. A non-Chinese phone number does not seem to be accepted.
Changsha Changsha seems to have two travel cards. One of them seems to have its own mini-app for its travel card. It is named Xiaoxiang Smart Card – so not immediately obvious which city it's for.	Requires "real-name authentication" via a Chinese mainland bank account.
Chang'an Changsha Jiangsu Jinan Qingdao Taizhou Tianjin Xiamen These areas seem to share a mini-app for their travel cards. It is named 雪球 (Snowball).	There is a phone number input which is partially prefilled with your number – certain figures are masked, for example: 00-000******00. No variation of non-Chinese numbers seem to work.

Answer 2

This is a frame challenge answer, because Apple Pay isn't really the universal payment platform in China, but Wechat is. I bound an American Express card to Wechat and have instant access to almost every vendor in China, barring the exceptional few stores that are not registered and you're paying to a person, so that does not support charging on a CC, but this has been extremely rare.