Alipay and Weixin Pay Expand Cross-Border Payments for Foreign Visitors in China
- tech360.tv
- Sep 18
- 2 min read
Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ Weixin Pay have adopted a new cross-border payment system, aiming to improve convenience for foreign visitors in China. This official system is designed to facilitate cashless transactions using their home countries’ bank cards or e-wallets.
Alipay, along with Ant Group’s overseas spin-off Ant International, and Weixin Pay said in separate statements on Wednesday that they were expanding support for foreign e-wallets through China’s Cross-border Interconnection Payment Gateway scheme. The People’s Bank of China and the Payment and Clearing Association of China launched this system this year.
Deputy Governor Lu Lei, from the central bank, stated at an industry forum that the new system aims to enhance payment convenience for foreign visitors. The system began its trial run at the end of July.
It had processed nearly 2 million transactions, reaching a value of 427 million yuan (US$60 million), according to Lu. Ant Group is affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding.
Alipay currently supports seven international bank cards and 31 mobile wallets from 12 countries and regions, including recent additions from Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and Thailand. CEO Cyril Han Xinyi stated that Ant Group plans to collaborate with global partners under the scheme.
This collaboration aims to enhance the payment experience for foreigners visiting China, allowing more small and medium-sized businesses to benefit from cross-border tourism consumption. Weixin Pay supports 16 international digital wallets, enabling users to pay in China with a QR code from their home wallet without downloading the Chinese app.
The Chinese government has pledged to bolster policy support for cross-border payment systems. This addresses a significant hurdle for visitors in a market dominated by local players.
In June, the Chinese central bank launched the Payment Connect programme with Hong Kong. This programme links the mainland’s Internet Banking Payment System with Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System to facilitate more convenient payments and money transfers.
Alipay and Weixin Pay have adopted China’s new Cross-border Interconnection Payment Gateway scheme.
The system aims to improve cashless payment convenience for foreign visitors using their bank cards or e-wallets.
The trial run processed nearly 2 million transactions, totalling 427 million yuan (US$60 million).
Source: SCMP
