Tencent Holdings is now allowing users to link foreign credit cards to WeChat Pay, facilitating the use of its electronic payments system by foreign tourists and businesspeople. Tencent announced that foreigners who do not have a Chinese bank card can now link Visa credit cards issued abroad to their WeChat app starting on July 1. This service was already available on the rival Alipay network. Alipay says it supports overseas bank cards issued by all major international card networks, including Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club International and Discover. Registration and verification do not require a prepaid account or a Chinese phone number. Mastercard announced in May that cardholders can link credit or debit cards to the Alipay digital wallet where they can finally “pay like a local”. Alipay is the mobile payment app owned by Ant.
Foreign visitors often found themselves unable to pay for goods and services in China where many shops and restaurants now only accept mobile payments rather than credit cards. According to Chinese law, cash payments always have to be accepted, but because most Chinese don't use cash anymore, many shops and service providers to not have spare cash for change.
Prior to the possibility of linking foreign credit cards, foreigners in China typically needed to set up a Chinese bank account to access Tencent's and Ant's mobile payment networks. Tencent and Ant had formed partnerships with Visa and Mastercard in 2019 to make foreign cards usable on their platforms. But as the Covid-19 pandemic hit and the number of international arrivals to the country plummeted, such initiatives had taken a back seat. However, the plans regained momentum as international travel started to recover this year.
Tencent and Ant are now opening up their entire ecosystems to foreign cards, allowing visitors to pay for a host of goods and services ranging from a quick meal at a food stall to a Didi ride. “Our efforts to further open payment services to visitors coincide with the full resumption of travel and tourism to China, as well as major upcoming international events in the country scheduled this year,” Tencent said in a statement, as reported by Shanghai Daily.
