Tencent Launches TenPayGo Payment App for Visitors to China

Tencent has launched TenPayGo, a mobile payment app for travellers visiting China that connects foreign bank cards and digital wallets to WeChat Pay’s vast merchant network. The app also offers QR-code access to public transport in Shenzhen and tools for translating menus. Its simpler email-based sign-up could ease a common difficulty for overseas visitors who do not have a Chinese phone number, as the city prepares to host the Apec leaders’ meeting in November.

Image: Cai Fang / Unsplash

The app was developed by Tencent’s WeChat Pay team. It lets travellers link foreign cards or digital wallets and pay at merchants across the WeChat Pay network. SCMP reports support for seven international card networks, including Visa and Mastercard, and about 60 overseas wallets. Singapore’s Starryblu is among the initial partners.

Registration requires an email address. That removes the need for a local phone number at sign-up, a hurdle visitors can encounter when using some services in China. Earlier versions of TenPayGo had been available for limited testing on the App Store and Google Play.

The service also generates a QR code for Shenzhen’s buses and metro. Its other tools include instant menu translation and image-based identification to help visitors navigate shops and restaurants. Tencent said it was working with banks to add tax refunds.

Tencent unveiled the app ahead of November’s Apec leaders’ meeting in Shenzhen. According to figures the company cited to SCMP, WeChat Pay transactions made in China through overseas accounts increased by more than 80 per cent in both number and value during the first eight months of 2026, compared with the same period a year earlier.

Source: SCMP