Convenient payment and cash exchange services offered at the 135th session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, have been widely welcomed and praised by foreign buyers thanks to the concerted efforts of relevant Chinese authorities and financial institutions.
The 135th session of the Canton Fair is held from April 15 to May 5 in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province.
Many recurring overseas buyers at the fair have expressed their satisfaction with the improved RMB cash exchange process. Previously, it would take them more than 10 minutes, but now the process has been significantly cut thanks to the facilitated financial service.
"It's easy if you have the passport and you have the know-how. It's something that you can do easily in two, three minutes," said a buyer from Greece.
"(They) have languages. So for me for example as we speak French, so for me it's more easy to do it and also have some people that can help us. I think maybe you need to have more machines here," said a buyer from Morocco.
The new self-service foreign currency exchange machines at the Canton Fair support eight languages, offer cash exchange in 18 currencies, and enable the conversion of foreign currency into digital RMB.
In addition to the introduction of convenient foreign currency exchange machines, the fair has also implemented a range of new measures to enhance its payment services.
"A total of 120 POS machines with foreign card acquiring capabilities have been set up at the certificate application points, catering areas and other consumption places in the venue (of Canton Fair), supporting a variety of overseas cards for consumption," said Ren Jinjin, deputy head of Bank of China Guangzhou Haizhu Sub-branch.
The China Construction Bank offers a wallet service that caters to foreign buyers, providing them with various denominations of RMB.
"The change in the wallet is composed of four categories: 1 yuan, 5 yuan, 10 yuan, and 20 yuan. The service is placed across the venue for home and abroad buyers (to exchange currencies), which has optimized the overall payment environment," said Chen Jiajia, head of the China Construction Bank Guangzhou Canton Fair Sub-branch.
The Foreign Visitors Payment Information Desk set up at the Canton Fair offers bilingual payment instructions and operating guidance to foreign buyers. In addition, the People's Bank of China has introduced services which enable foreigners to pay with overseas cards directly via widely-used mobile payment platforms in China.
"Overseas users only need to bind their foreign cards to WeChat Pay, and they can use them with our merchants across the country within a certain amount," said Ren Ziming from a payment agency.
Convenient payment, currency exchange services at Canton Fair welcomed, praised by foreign buyers
