Shanghai metro will start accepting mobile app payments on Saturday!

To try it out for yourself, download the ‘Metro Daduhui’ app and complete the verification process

Shanghai continues to move into a brave new world of neither cash nor cards with the city’s subway network set to start accepting mobile app payments on Saturday.

To use this new system, subway riders must first download a mobile app developed by metro operator Shanghai Shentong Metro Group called “Metro Daduhui” (Metro大都会) and complete the verification process, choosing whether they want to pay via Alipay or Unionpay.

Afterward, they will be issued a QR code which can be scanned at turnstiles to quickly and conveniently enter the subway network. This system was piloted last year on Shanghai’s maglev line and since then QR code-readers have been installed at all 389 metro stations around the city.

According to the operator’s statement, each station will have at least four turnstiles that support QR code payments (two entering and two exiting), while all of the turnstiles on the newly-opened Line 17 and Line 9 extension will boast this function.

Moreover, metro riders won’t even need to be connected to the internet to avail themselves of this new payment option because you’ll have the option to pay after your ride.

Public transportation fares are becoming the latest battleground for China’s two mobile payment giants — Alipay and WeChat Pay. Already, Alipay operates similar mobile app payment systems on the Hangzhou and Xi’an subways, while WeChat has dominion over the Guangzhou metro network.

In order to encourage passengers to try out this new payment method, the Shanghai Metro will offer discounted fares for those who use the Metro Daduhui app from January 20th until the end of February.