How to enjoy a weekend without carrying cash

One does not need to bring along any cash to survive in Beijing for an entire day as long as he/she has a smartphone in the pocket, thanks to the quickly emerging mobile payment services. I tested this theory during a recent weekend.

After covering the China launch of Apple Pay and the availability of various local payment applications over the past months, I was wondering if this digitalized payment method could replace bank cards and wallets in our daily lives today. So, on a lovely Saturday morning in late February, I left my wallet at home and brought my girlfriend out for a date. All I had was a smartphone with a number of apps that can help me deal with all money situations.

I ended up spending 472 yuan ($72) using four apps and it turned out the cash-free card-free payment service was good enough to handle most scenarios. I was never so eager to pay for everything she wanted to buy.