WeChat QR payment access expanded for visitors to Chinese mainland

This photo taken on March 8, 2021, shows a sign of WeChat Pay in Changzhou, Jiangsu province. [Photo/VCG]

Chinese financial services provider UnionPay International, in collaboration with leading Chinese payment platform WeChat Pay, has introduced enhanced payment services for foreign visitors to the Chinese mainland, aiming to offer more diverse and convenient payment options.

Travelers using any of eight overseas e-wallets, including Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking and NAVER Pay, can now make payments on the Chinese mainland by scanning WeChat QR codes, according to UnionPay.

This upgrade is a significant step in China's broader efforts to ease the entry and stay for foreign visitors. On Tuesday, China announced a relaxation of its visa-free transit policy, extending the permitted stay duration for eligible foreign travelers from the initial 72 hours and subsequent 144 hours to 240 hours, or 10 days.

China has been working to make mobile payment processes more accessible to foreigners. Foreign travelers can now link credit cards from major issuers such as Visa and Mastercard to local platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay.

In November, the number of WeChat Pay transactions made using foreign card payments increased 6.4 times from the figure recorded in July, 2023.