UnionPay International, a prominent Chinese financial services provider, has partnered with WeChat Pay, one of China’s leading payment platforms, to introduce enhanced payment solutions for foreign visitors to the Chinese mainland. This initiative aims to provide a wider range of convenient payment options.
Travelers using any of eight overseas e-wallets, including:
- BoC Pay by Bank of China (Hong Kong)
- Octopus (Hong Kong)
- PayMe by HSBC
- Tap & Go by HKT
- Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking
- K PLUS by Kasikorn Bank
- NAVER Pay
- ICBC Pay by ICBC Mobile Banking (Malaysia)
can now complete transactions on the mainland by scanning WeChat QR codes, UnionPay confirmed.
This update represents a key milestone in China’s broader push to simplify travel and payment processes for international visitors. On Tuesday, China further eased its visa-free transit policy, extending the allowable stay for eligible foreign travelers from the previous limits of 72 hours and 144 hours to a more generous 240 hours (10 days).
Efforts to improve mobile payment accessibility for foreigners are also underway. International travelers can now link credit cards from major issuers such as Visa and Mastercard to popular Chinese payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay.
In November 2023, the volume of WeChat Pay transactions made using foreign-linked cards increased by 6.4 times compared to July of the same year, highlighting the growing adoption of these services among foreign users.
