China is known to be a high-tech country, especially in its city centres like Beijing, which recently rolled out ‘palm payment’ at its subway stations.
Now, even foreigners can benefit from the country’s technology through its mobile payment platforms.
WeChat Pay and Alipay recently allowed foreign Visa and Mastercard users to link their accounts for cashless payments.
The move comes ahead of major international events in China such as the Hangzhou Asian Games in September this year.
According to a statement by Tencent, the company that owns WeChat Pay, foreigners can now conveniently purchase from “more than ten million small and medium-sized merchants” in China.
They can use the e-payment platform to pay for dining, transportation and even for shopping in malls and supermarkets, among others.
Travellers previously had to create a Chinese bank account if they wished to access China’s mobile payment networks, said Reuters.
Now, visitors don’t even need a Chinese Mainland (+86) phone number.
Source: Tencent via Tech In Asia
According to Tencent’s guide to using Weixin Pay, also known as WeChat Pay, there are certain transaction limits.
Users can spend a maximum of 6,000RMB (S$1,120) in a single transaction.
For monthly and yearly transactions, there’s a cumulative limit of 50,000RMB (S$9,341) and 60,000RMB (S$11,209) respectively.
As for the exchange rate, it will be based on the card organisation and the issuing bank.
There’ll also be a 3% transaction fee for transactions over 200RMB (S$37).
As it turns out, those holding foreign credit or debit cards have been able to link their accounts since late July.
CNN reported that WeChat Pay and Alipay allowed limited access to foreign credit cards in 2019.
However, with the outbreak of Covid-19 and the subsequent shutting of borders, the efforts came to a pause.
With travel picking up, foreigners will thankfully have an easier time with payments in China.
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Featured image adapted from SAMPi and Fi.money for illustration purposes only.
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