[kaycebasques]

WeChat registration was a fascinating experience. You download the app and then someone who is already in the system has to verify you via QR code scan. That's how it was when I visited a couple years ago, at least.

[rwmj]

Or to be more precise, it works for a few days, then abruptly locks you out until a friend with a China phone number and bank account vouches for you.

[radmuzom]

Not necessarily "China phone number". I live in Malaysia and WeChat is very popular here, even among Malays. One Malaysian friend vouched for my account.

[vmception]

Its different for every country combination and at different times depending on how Tencent/CCP feels

[fortuna86]

And forget getting the weChat payment functionality working with a foreign bank.

[xrikcus]

It works pretty reliable with discoverbank cards, but that's because they are unionpay compatible. It was a complete mess getting the app to the point where it would let me use it for payments at all, though.

[fortuna86]

When I tried to troubleshoot getting a bank linked to the account, WeChat suspended the account for "suspicious behavior". That was that.

[vmception]

The best thing about San Francisco for me was being able to run around and find Mainland Chinese to register me!

Even Hong Kongers couldn’t register Americans at the time.