How to Leave Your WeChat, Alipay, and Bank Passwords to Your Family

The three payment tools people in China use most — WeChat, Alipay, and bank cards — can your family get the money out of them if something happens to you? The answer is yes, but the process can be cumbersome. WeChat will not transfer the account, Alipay inheritance requires review, and banks require notarization. The simplest path is to leave the passwords in advance so your family can act directly instead of going through the inheritance process.

WeChat: The Account Cannot Be Inherited, but the Balance Can Be Requested

WeChat accounts currently cannot be inherited. If you pass away, the account is frozen as a 'memorial account' — friends can still see your Moments (if you have enabled it), but no one can log in and use it. For the money in WeChat Wallet, a relative can contact Tencent customer service to request a withdrawal, providing: a death certificate, proof of kinship, and the applicant's ID. Once approved, the balance transfers to a designated bank card.

But this process has a few problems: the review timeline is uncertain (potentially weeks to months), the balance may not transfer in full if there are issues with the linked bank card, and WeChat Pay auto-deductions (utility bills, subscriptions) will stop. If you leave the WeChat payment password with your family in advance, they can log in and act directly — withdraw the balance, cancel auto-deductions, and handle the assets inside WeChat.

Alipay: Supports Inheritance, but the Process Is Involved

Alipay's asset inheritance process is more developed than WeChat's: a relative can apply for 'asset inheritance' through the Alipay app or customer service, submit a death certificate, proof of kinship, and other materials, and once approved the balance transfers to the heir's bank card. But without the login and payment passwords, your family can only go through this official process. With the passwords, they can log in and act directly — far more efficient.

Alipay also includes Huabei, Jiebei, and Yu'ebao and other financial products, each handled differently. Yu'ebao can be transferred out to a bank card, while Huabei and Jiebei debts must be repaid within the scope of the inherited assets. For a detailed legal reading, see Digital Legacy Legal Interpretation.

Bank Cards: Knowing the Password vs. Not

If your family knows the bank card password, they can withdraw directly at an ATM (within the daily limit) or transfer funds. That is the fastest path. Without the password, they go through inheritance notarization: obtain a succession notarization at a notary office, then bring the notarial certificate and death certificate to a bank branch. The whole process can take 1–3 months, and if there are multiple heirs, all of them must be present to sign.

We recommend storing the card number, issuing bank, and password together in the password vault. Following the tiered scheme in the Family Password Management Guide, bank card passwords are 'urgent-tier' — your family needs them immediately if something happens to you.

A Safe Handover Plan

Telling your family the passwords directly is not safe (leak, expiry, forgetting). Writing them on paper is not safe either (loss, seen by others). A safe approach is:

• Encrypted storage — Store WeChat, Alipay, and bank card passwords in the [Password Vault](/seo/密码保险箱), AES-256 encrypted, invisible to the platform in plaintext
• Conditional release — Set up heartbeat detection to automatically send them to confirmed emergency contacts 30 days after you go unreachable
• Update anytime — When a password changes, update the vault so your family always has working credentials
• Tiered storage — Store urgent-tier (payment passwords) separately from everyday-tier (social accounts)

If you hold cryptocurrency, this part needs its own treatment — see the Crypto Wallet Secure Inheritance Guide.