Foreigners visiting China are taking advantage of easier-to-use mobile payment services, with the number of users and transactions soaring over the past few months. From January to June, over 5 million inbound travelers used mobile pay services, a fourfold increase year-on-year, according to a report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CINIC). The travelers conducted more than 90 million transactions totaling CNY14 billion in the first half of this year, both of which are a sevenfold increase year-on-year, the report added. It cited the figures as proof that China’s optimized mobile payments have provided greater convenience for foreign tourists, and it lauded some innovative measures taken by financial and telecom companies.
For example, under cooperation agreements between foreign financial institutions and the Nets Union Clearing Corporation, an enterprise affiliated with the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), foreigners in China have been able to use their overseas wallet apps to make payments in China since the beginning of this year. As of June, more than 28 million transactions were completed in this way, more than five times higher than in the same period last year, according to data released by the enterprise in July. In addition to the e-wallet service, Nets Union has also allowed overseas travelers to link their bank cards to China’s domestic payment apps, so even if foreigners in China do not have their cards with them, they can still pay for goods and services in China.
The company has served over 2 million foreign users, and the number of transactions they have made on Chinese e-commerce platforms has increased significantly. In March, the PBOC announced that greater efforts would be made to help resolve the problems that foreign visitors, many of whom are still used to using cash and bank cards, have with making payments in China, where mobile payments have become more prevalent. The move has demonstrated the country’s determination to enhance its high-level opening-up. China had nearly 1.1 billion internet users by the end of June, an increase of 7.42 million compared with December. Among the new users, the majority were between 10 and 19 years old or elderly people, the China Daily reports.
