diff --git a/video-gen-api/app/services/payment.py b/video-gen-api/app/services/payment.py
index 54aa7e19..db4631c1 100644
--- a/video-gen-api/app/services/payment.py
+++ b/video-gen-api/app/services/payment.py
@@ -325,6 +325,13 @@ def _create_alipay_order(order: PaymentOrder, db_configs: dict[str, str]) -> str
 
         response = client.execute(request)
 
+        if isinstance(response, str):
+            logger.error(
+                f"Alipay precreate returned string instead of object: "
+                f"order_no={order.order_no}, response={response[:500]}"
+            )
+            return None
+
         if response.code == "10000":
             qr_url = response.qr_code
             logger.info(