Payment method for booking Singapore Hotel

Contessa

I'm trying to book a short stay in a hotel In Singapore by using the hotel website. All is easy until it comes to payment. The hotel seems to require payment through We Pay, Unio Pay or Alipay. I've never heard of these so I'm considering booking through Expedia but wonder how safe Expedia is (there are some negative posts about Expedia here)

flaneurs_lobster

WePay (at least the real WePay) is legit, payment company that's owned by Chase. Not heard of the others.

Is the hotel part of one of the usual chains or is it an independent?

Voyager2002

I use Expedia regularly (partly because AmEx offers ten per cent cashback on money spent with them). Zero customer service, but I have not had any problems. (One bullet that I dodged was an airport hotel in Spain, where the main reason to stay there is the shuttle bus to the airport. Reviews revealed that the shuttle bus is only for people who booked on the hotel's website, not through an agency such as Expedia. They would not correct the misleading information.)

Contessa

Thanks for such a quick reply.
Reassuring that WePay is legit-how do i make sure it's the real one?

The hotel Changi Village Hotel and is part of Far East Hospitality. I stayed there a few years ago but the trip was booked through my local travel agent. I'm treating myself to a stay in Singapore after a cruise that ends there.

flaneurs_lobster

Contessa said:

Thanks for such a quick reply.
Reassuring that WePay is legit-how do i make sure it's the real one?

The hotel Changi Village Hotel and is part of Far East Hospitality. I stayed there a few years ago but the trip was booked through my local travel agent. I'm treating myself to a stay in Singapore after a cruise that ends there.

Point is that if the hotel site is legit, as seems likely since you know the place, then the payment system they choose to use will be a legitimate link to the real deal.

Contessa

Voyager, thanks, that's reassuring. The hotel does offer a shuttle service so I must check if all bookings are eligible.

Contessa

flaneurs_lobster said:

Contessa said:

Thanks for such a quick reply.
Reassuring that WePay is legit-how do i make sure it's the real one?

The hotel Changi Village Hotel and is part of Far East Hospitality. I stayed there a few years ago but the trip was booked through my local travel agent. I'm treating myself to a stay in Singapore after a cruise that ends there.

Point is that if the hotel site is legit, as seems likely since you know the place, then the payment system they choose to use will be a legitimate link to the real deal.

A good point.

On-the-coast

UnionPay & Alipay are Chinese payment networks - both large & legitimate. 

Unusual to find a hotel in Singapore that doesn’t take Visa/Amex/mastercard

Contessa

Yes, I was surprised myself. Thanks for further reassurance that those payment methods are safe to use.

SiliconChip

On-the-coast said:

Unusual to find a hotel in Singapore that doesn’t take Visa/Amex/mastercard

This would be a big enough red flag for me to look for an hotel that does offer these payment methods.

buffetking

Hi! Assuming take it you're referring to WeChat pay (rather than WePay), all of the 3 options you mentioned are legitimate.

However, unless the hotel is amazing value, it probably isnt worth the hassle to set up. And, you won't get chargeback protection that you'd get with MasterCard/Visa.

If you did want to use that hotel:

- AliPay will be the easiest for you to set up from the UK. You just download the app, set up as an International customer and link to a UK credit/debit card.

- WeChat Pay will be a headache to set up outside of China/HK/SG.

- UnionPay isn't possible - it's provided by local banks in Asia.

Also, it's not a red flag, rather some hotels and restaurants in Singapore's Chinatown don't accept Visa/MasterCard.