You are at the counter. The cashier points at a QR code. You open your wallet app, then pause: am I scanning that, or are they scanning me?
Both can be right.
If the shop has a QR code on the counter, you usually scan it, enter the amount if needed, and approve the payment. Think: you scan the shop.
If the cashier is holding a scanner—or the till has one facing you—open your payment code and hold the screen steady. Think: the shop scans you.
The awkward bit is that both actions can start from the same app. Looking for a button called “Scan” is not always enough. Look at the counter first:
- QR stand or printed code: scan it;
- handheld scanner or red scanning light: show your payment code;
- cashier says “payment code” or gestures for your screen: turn up the brightness and hold still.
One useful boundary: do not improvise with a personal money-transfer code just because it also looks like a QR code. Ask for the merchant payment route, or use another way to pay.
This is a tiny piece of China travel literacy. Once you know which direction the scan is moving, the whole checkout becomes much less mysterious.
Next: open the China payment field manual and set up a wallet plus one payment backup before the first queue forms behind you.