Mobile payments enhance tourism

China's convenient mobile payment services have bolstered tourism-related consumption and injected fresh momentum into the country's economic recovery during the Spring Festival holiday, experts and industry insiders said.

They added that an increasing number of overseas travelers have come to experience Chinese culture and opted for online payment tools following the implementation of expanded visa-free entry and transit policies, and the country's enhanced efforts to facilitate payments for foreigners.

Data from Alipay, the digital payment arm of Chinese financial technology company Ant Group, showed that spending made by inbound tourists on the platform surged 1.5 times from Jan 28 to Saturday, compared with the first five days of last year's Spring Festival holiday.

The number of Chinese merchants using Alipay for foreign visitors witnessed a 100 percent increase during the period, while the expenditure from some overseas tourists, who can enjoy visa-free policies when visiting China, nearly tripled via Alipay over the previous Spring Festival.

Chinese cities with abundant intangible cultural heritage have been favored by foreign tourists. The top five cities that saw the highest expenditure from inbound travelers using Alipay for in-depth travel and consumption were Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Zhongshan, Foshan and Jiangmen in Guangdong province, and Xi'an in Shaanxi province.

Hong Yong, an associate research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said, "China's mobile payment options, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, have greatly simplified the payment process, improved transaction efficiency and provided consumers with a more convenient payment experience."

Hong said the widespread use of digital payment methods and expanded visa-free policies have attracted a large number of inbound tourists, thus further propelling the development of the tourism industry, stimulating consumption demand — including catering, accommodation and transportation as well as injecting more vitality into the country's economic growth.

China has been working to make mobile payment processes more accessible to foreigners. The State Council, China's Cabinet, published a guideline in March aimed at improving payment services and enhancing payment convenience, so as to better meet the diversified payment needs of the elderly and foreign visitors.

Foreign travelers can now link their international bank cards such as Visa and Mastercard to mobile payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat Pay, greatly streamlining the payment processes. Alipay has also allowed foreigners to use their familiar e-wallets from their home country by scanning Alipay QR codes.

Chinese financial services provider UnionPay International in December introduced enhanced payment services for foreign visitors to the Chinese mainland in collaboration with WeChat Pay.

Travelers using any of eight overseas e-wallets, such as Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking and Naver Pay, which is frequently used in South Korea, can make payments on the Chinese mainland by scanning WeChat QR codes.

Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, which operates under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said innovative mobile payment tools have not only helped tackle payment difficulties faced by international travelers, but also boosted inbound tourism and the recovery of domestic consumption.

A slew of convenient measures optimizing mobile payments for foreigners have demonstrated the country's resolve to expand high-standard opening-up, said Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst at market consultancy Botong Analysys.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn