Alipay And WeChat Pay Offer Support For Foreign Credit Cards

Foreign visitors that are going to China will not have access to a cashless and seamless payment experience. Two of the largest payment apps in China, Alipay and WeChat Pay, have now said that foreign visitors can make payments at retailers in the country by linking their credit cards, such as Discover, Mastercard, and Visa.

Alipay and WeChat Pay offer support for Visa and Mastercard

Before this recent move, those who wanted to use WeChat Pay and Alipay in China needed a local bank account. As such, short-term visitors that did not have time to create a bank account could not use these payment apps.

The popularity of Alipay and WeChat Pay has caused a drastic drop in cash usage in China. Foreign visitors usually have a hard time locating places that accept cash and those that do never provide change. The two payment apps have replaced cash usage across cities and villages in China.

The integration is, therefore, a positive factor that will improve the experience that foreign visitors have in China. Alipay and WeChat Pay and accepted anywhere in China, including in online and offline shopping spaces. The apps are also used in grocery stores, food delivery apps, and even used to shop online for a wide range of e-commerce products.

The announcement by WeChat shared some details on how this integration will happen. Foreign visitors that want to activate their WeChat wallets have to verify their identity by uploading passports. They can also use their foreign phone numbers to obtain a verification code for their wallets.

WeChat Pay will provide support for JCB, Mastercard, and Visa cards. On the other hand, Alipay will accept Diners Club, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, and Visa cards. The two payment apps will also impose a 3% fee for transactions that surpass a certain threshold.

Before the recent integration, WeChat Pay required that users provide a locally-issued credit card to support transactions. On the other hand, Alipay accepted international cards only in cases where the user subscribed to a program that deducted a 5% fee.

Alipay and WeChat Pay announce some restrictions

While this integration is a positive development, it has not come without restrictions. Foreign visitors will not access the Chinese hongbao custom, which was the main driver for the growth for the WeChat Pay app in China. Moreover, visitors will also not be permitted to make money transfers in line with China’s strict control of capital flows to other countries.

WeChat Pay has also imposed spending limits of 6,000 yuan per transaction. The app has also imposed a spending limit of 50,000 yuan per month and 60,000 yuan per year. The platform will also waive payments for transactions below 200 yuan. Amounts above 200 yuan will be charged a 3% fee.

According to the owner of Alipay, Tencent, the initiative has come at an ideal time when there will be an increase in tourists because of the Asian Games and the FISU World University Games.