Digital payment upgrade improves foreigners' shopping experience

China has reiterated its commitment to facilitating mobile payment for foreigners, a move that indicates its resolve to enhance high-level openness.

Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said the central bank will guide payment platforms such as Alipay and Tenpay to raise the single transaction limit for overseas travelers using mobile payments from 1,000 U.S. dollars to 5,000 dollars, and the annual cumulative transaction cap will be raised from 10,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars.

Efforts will also be made to simplify identity verification and provide easier access for foreign visitors to manage various processes, such as card binding, according to Zhang.

Zhang said the central bank will also guide payment institutions to introduce a slew of convenient measures to "make mobile payments products satisfactory and pleasing for foreign friends to use."

After years of rapid growth, China has emerged as a front-runner in mobile payment. The penetration rate for mobile payments in the country reached 86 percent, the highest in the world, by the end of 2023.

However, the widespread use of mobile payment also poses hurdles for first-time visitors to China. Foreign visitors relying on bank cards and cash may encounter difficulties during payment processes, as street vendors or small-scale service providers often prefer mobile payment to cash or international credit cards.

The inconvenience experienced by some foreign visitors can mainly be attributed to the differences in payment practices between China and other countries, said Xu Hong, dean of the College of Tourism and Service Management, Nankai University.

"It is imperative to develop diversified means of payment and provide convenient and tailored services for foreign visitors to meet their payment demand," Xu added.

The Chinese government has already rolled out multiple measures to help foreigners enjoy a hassle-free payment environment in China, akin to that enjoyed by locals.
Meanwhile, Chinese banks are actively working to broaden the acceptance of overseas bank cards and facilitate cash usage within the country. Major payment institutions are encouraged to diversify the range of mobile payment products and develop digital yuan solutions to cater to the mobile payment requirements of foreigners.
Alipay and WeChat Pay, China's two major payment apps, now allow foreign users to link their international credit cards, including Visa and Mastercard, to their platforms, greatly streamlining the payment processes.

Efforts are also afoot to strengthen regulations concerning mobile payments. China has issued rules on the supervision and administration of nonbank payment institutions to address concerns over privacy protection.

Zhang said a guideline, which was approved by the State Council, China's Cabinet, on Feb 23 and will be published soon, promotes the acceptance of foreign bank cards, guarantees the use of cash, improves mobile payment convenience and optimizes account services.
He added that the PBOC, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, will establish a cross-departmental collaboration mechanism to implement the guideline.
Shi Zeyi, head of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's international exchange and cooperation bureau, said the country will continue to provide offline, manned ticketing services at tourist attractions and optimize foreign tourists' online and offline payment experiences.

China's inbound tourism has recovered as the country saw 3.23 million inbound travelers during this year's Spring Festival holiday, the ministry's data showed.
Liu Chunsheng, an associate professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said China's efforts to make mobile payment services more convenient will improve foreigners' experiences here as mobile payment has become a "daily necessity" in many cases.
"This is also a sign that China is devoted to opening its market wider after the COVID-19 pandemic, providing the world with more business opportunities," Liu said.
The tone-setting Central Economic Work Conference, held in December, stressed the need to make it easy for foreigners to do business, study and travel in China.

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