With cross-border traveling on the rise so far in the current summer travel season, Chinese financial institutions are advancing payment connectivity to enhance the seamless and user-friendly spending experience for global travelers.
Gilbert, a traveler from Rwanda, has already enjoyed the convenience of seamless payment services when taking a taxi in Shanghai.
"I got really surprised because back in days, we were actually used to use cash as foreigners just traveling in Shanghai. But now it's very convenient because you can use your back-home country's bank card, like a visa card, whatever, and then you just swipe and that's all. Life is easy," he said.
The "tap-to-ride" payment system, which enables foreign travelers to make payments by tapping their bank cards onto the cellphone of the payee without the need for currency exchange or application installation, has greatly enhanced payment convenience for them in China.
"We have noticed that many foreign travelers prefer using their international cards for tap payments. Consequently, we have transformed our drivers' cellphones into kind of 'POS machines' capable of accepting international card payments. This enables foreign travelers to easily settle their taxi fares by simply swiping their cards, enhancing the convenience of their taxi journeys," said Xie Hua, general manager of the credit card department at the Bank of Communications Shanghai Branch.
Apart from the convenience in taxi rides, foreign travelers can swiftly pass through the gates of Shanghai's subway stations by using mainstream international chip cards for tap-and-go payments.
"For subway travel, we have introduced the 'flash pay' function for bank cards and the digital yuan's hard wallet for 'tap-to-pay' at gate passages. These efforts are focused on addressing inconvenience in travel by both domestic and international travelers, making it easier for them to make payment," Xie said.
In addition to traditional financial institutions, Tencent's WeChat Pay provides one-stop services for foreign travelers visiting China during the summer travel season, specifically at key arrival hubs such as the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport in south China's Guangdong Province.
Data show that in June and July this year, the number and value of transactions made in China by foreigners using the WeChat Pay system linked to international bank cards nearly tripled compared to the same period last year.
Chinese financial institutions enhance cross-border payment connectivity for global travelers
Chinese financial institutions enhance cross-border payment connectivity for global travelers
Chinese financial institutions enhance cross-border payment connectivity for global travelers
