On Thursday (July 20th), Tencent announced that it has further enhanced the mobile payment experience for overseas users in mainland China by collaborating with international card organizations such as Visa, Discover Global Network (including Diners Club), JCB, and Mastercard. They have recently fully and systematically opened WeChat Pay’s merchant network in various cities across mainland China. On Friday (July 21st), another major player in mainland China’s electronic payment industry, Alipay, also announced that it has completed support for mobile payments by overseas users in China. With these developments, both of China’s major mobile payment giants have now fully opened up to binding international cards.
Once Alipay is bound to an overseas bank card, it can be used nationwide, whether for offline shopping or public transportation, providing convenience for foreign tourists. According to Alipay’s official introduction, the process for overseas users to use Alipay is the same as for domestic users. First, they need to download and register on Alipay, and then bind their overseas bank cards. Currently, Alipay supports mainstream bank cards issued by international card organizations such as Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club, and Discover. It is also synchronized with domestic usage, meaning it can be used wherever Alipay payments are accepted.
As early as November 2020, Alipay obtained approval for the “Overseas Users’ Payment Scheme” in mainland China. Alipay has expressed its commitment to continuously optimizing products and services in order to provide overseas users in China with an improved mobile payment experience.
On Thursday, Tencent also stated that they have deepened cooperation with international card organizations, including Visa, Discover Global Network (including Diners Club), JCB, and Mastercard, to further enhance the mobile payment experience for overseas users in mainland China. They have recently fully and systematically opened WeChat Pay’s merchant network in various cities across mainland China, supporting various domains such as catering, transportation, supermarkets, and travel. The payment options include QR code payments, in-app payments, WeChat mini-programs, and more, continuously expanding the scope of consumer scenarios. Inbound travelers can easily use WeChat Pay by linking their international bank cards to their passports, Home Return Permits for Hong Kong and Macau residents, Mainland Travel Permits for Taiwan residents, Residence Permits for Hong Kong and Macau residents, Residence Permits for Taiwan residents, and Permanent Resident Identity Cards for foreigners. By binding international bank cards, they can conveniently make purchases at over 10 million small and medium-sized merchants.
It is worth mentioning that to support users’ frequent small transactions, WeChat Pay will bear the related transaction fees for international card payments with a single transaction amount of 200 Chinese yuan or less, and users will not be charged any transaction fees (subject to specific prompts on the payment page).