WeChat Pay and Alipay are the most popular mobile payments systems in China but were shut to foreigners. Now that has changed, solving a major pain point for tourists in China who previously had to rely heavily on cash.
affiliate Ant Financial runs Alipay's platform. Previously, users could not use the two digital payment platforms if they did not have a Chinese bank account
But On Tuesday, Ant Financial announced it is launching a version of the Alipay app that will support international debit or credit cards. After downloading Alipay on Google's Android oriOS, users can register for the international version of the app using their foreign mobile number. Users can then top up money onto a pre-paid virtual card and begin using Alipay across China. Ant Financial said Alipay will support Visa, Mastercard, Japan's JCB and Singapore's Diners Club cards.
Millions of visitors go to China each year. In 2018, a total of 141 million inbound visitors were in China, up 1.2% compared to a year earlier.So far both companies have focused on getting merchants abroad to accept the payment methods so that Chinese tourists can pay when they go on holiday. But both firms have not launched versions of their apps for users based outside mainland China and Hong Kong.
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