The move will allow travellers to use their smartphones to pay tens of millions of merchants across China, from shops to hotels to transport providers, that already accept the domestic version of WeChat Pay.
“Tencent has been working hard to provide greater access to China’s online and offline merchants for overseas visitors under the guidance of relevant regulatory bodies and policies,” Chen said at the event held in the Chinese port city Tianjin, also known as Summer Davos.
It comes after Alipay, operated by Alibaba Group Holding affiliate Ant, announced this month it would allow foreign users to pay in China with Mastercard credit or debit cards. The platform also supports overseas bank cards issued by Visa, Diners Club International and Discover, according to Alipay.
Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.
WeChat Pay and Alipay QR codes displayed at a vegatable market in Beijing. Photo: AFP
In recent years, China has increasingly moved towards being a cashless society that is highly reliant on digital and mobile payments. However, the leap has also left behind certain users, including the less tech-savvy elderly population, as well as foreign visitors who usually do not possess a Chinese bank account.
In November 2019, Alipay launched Tour Pass, which allowed foreign visitors to add funds from an international credit or debit card to shop online with Alipay or use the app to pay at shops and restaurants.
In the same month, WeChat started to allow overseas visitors to pay with credit cards on selected platforms such as ride-hailing services Didi Chuxing and China’s official train ticketing site “12306”. Payments partners included Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Global Network and JCB.
The number of online payments users in China surpassed 911 million in December 2022, accounting for around 85 per cent of the country’s internet population, according to the latest report by China Internet Network Information Centre.
