China recently released multiple measures for payment institutions to make its payment services more accessible and convenient for international visitors, such as streamlined procedures for opening bank accounts, registration and binding overseas bank cards, and acceptance of foreign cards at more key venues and stores.
Now international visitors can use their overseas mobile phone numbers or bank card numbers to open mobile payment services in China.
The Chinese banks are actively working to broaden the acceptance of overseas bank cards and facilitate cash usage within the country.
In efforts to enhance foreign currency exchange and cash services, China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange has requested that at least one of the five foreign currency exchange channels should be available in important scenarios such as ports and hotels serving international guests.
Foreign currency exchange institutions are encouraged to provide better exchange services for international visitors coming to China, and further cater to their needs for mobile payment and online consumption.
Alipay and WeChat Pay, the major platforms in China, allow foreign users to link international cards, including Visa and Mastercard.
The People’s Bank of China instructed the major platforms to lift the single transaction limit from $1,000 to $5,000 and the annual cumulative transaction cap from $10,000 to $50,000 for overseas travellers using mobile payments.
China’s major platforms have also rolled out a multilingual translation service tailored for international users, which extends beyond the initial offering of Chinese and English to encompass a wider array of languages.
The translation service can be applied to various scenarios within the application, such as ride-hailing, hotel reservations, purchasing tickets for tourist attractions, public transportation navigation and checking exchange rates.
For a guide to payment services in China, click here.
The article was provided by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malta.