The passport scans fine, the app still says not authenticated. Here is what actually failed and the order of fixes that works.
This status confuses everyone because it reads like a contradiction: the app confirms your ID was validated, then refuses to call you authenticated. The two words are different steps. Validated means the passport scan succeeded. Authenticated means the face (liveness) check against that passport also succeeded. When you are stuck in between, the face step is the one that failed or never ran.
You do not need a new account, a Chinese phone number, or a Chinese bank card. You need to redo one screen properly. The rest of this page is the order of fixes traveller reports and support threads converge on.
The short answer
Verification codes go to your home number, not to any Chinese SIM. Some budget carriers silently block international SMS while roaming — check with your carrier before the trip. Keep the home SIM installed and powered on; it does not need data roaming to receive SMS.
A data-only travel eSIM never receives codes. That is expected — see the eSIM comparison.
Separate problem, separate fixes: foreign cards sometimes fail on first use until the issuer sees the China merchant category, and single payments above RMB 200 carry a 3% platform fee. The payment errors page covers decline codes and the tax-refund quirk.
Keep a second card linked as backup before you arrive.
Verification uploads are small but latency-sensitive, and mainland hotel Wi-Fi is unreliable for foreign sign-ins. A travel eSIM that routes outside the mainland usually carries the Alipay app fine — which is also why the SMS caveat above matters: data and SMS travel on different SIMs. Compare options in the eSIM hub, and the full setup sequence lives on the Alipay & WeChat Pay guide. Pre-arrival order and costs: the 7-step booking guide.
Alipay has read your passport, but the face (liveness) check did not complete, so the identity step is stuck in the middle. It is the most common verification state foreign travellers report, and in most cases it can be fixed in a few minutes by redoing the face check — you do not need to start over with a new account.
Often yes. Many travellers report that payments with a linked foreign card still work at this status, including small in-store QR payments and Didi. Treat it as unreliable rather than broken: top up nothing you cannot afford to have frozen, and finish the authentication as soon as you have a stable connection.
Almost always lighting or glare: glossy passport pages reflect, dim rooms shadow the face, and VPN traffic can stall the upload. Redo it under even light on a plain background, remove glasses and hats, and try Wi-Fi first. If the app is old, update it — the liveness screen changes between versions.
The code goes to your home number, and some budget carriers block international SMS while roaming. Keep your home SIM installed and switched on (data roaming off is fine — SMS does not need data). If codes still fail, Alipay can fall back to other channels such as an in-app push or bank verification.
No. Alipay identity verification for visitors works with a passport and a linked foreign card. A +86 number is not required; Chinese bank accounts are for residents.
No operator paid for inclusion. Some booking links earn a commission at no extra cost to the reader. Details change — confirm with the official source before you travel.
Most verification stalls happen on bad connections. Install a travel eSIM before you fly so the app has a stable line the moment you land.
Some links are booking links. See our disclosure.
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