Digital payments enhance travel experience

The surge in foreign visitor transactions underscores China's blossoming role as a global tourism and business hub, with the continuous refinement of payment services at key commercial hotspots and entry points acting as the wind in this rising tide, said Liu Bin, director of the financial research office at the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone's research institute.

"Payment data serve as a crucial window into China's economic vitality and consumption trends. The progress is underpinned by strong policy support and the concerted efforts of payment institutions, financial organizations and fintech companies in advancing payment convenience," Liu said, adding that the growth in transaction volumes is driven by both high-frequency, small-scale payments (such as online red envelopes and dining purchases) and larger expenditures (like travel and home appliances).

To further enhance payment convenience, domestic fintech players have introduced a slew of innovations for inbound travelers. For example, Alipay has allowed foreign users to directly link their international credit or debit cards to their digital account, while Alipay+ cross-border services allow visitors to make purchases in the Chinese mainland using their e-wallets, such as AlipayHK (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), MPay (Macao SAR), Touch 'n Go eWallet (Malaysia) and TrueMoney Wallet (Thailand), among the 13 overseas e-wallets from 10 countries and regions.

Between Jan 28-31, transactions made through Alipay+ supported overseas e-wallets in the Chinese mainland nearly doubled year-on-year, said Ant Group.

"The surge in cross-border payment demand, particularly in tourism-driven and holiday spending …serves as a real-world testament to the resilience of China's payment infrastructure, showcasing its increasing internationalization level and expanding inclusivity," said Ye Yindan, a researcher at the Bank of China Research Institute.

However, despite progress, some foreign travelers still face challenges such as complex identity verification and language barriers.

"I've seen my Chinese friends make payments using facial recognition, while we still have to scan QR codes, which can be inconvenient in certain situations," said Tong Ho Phuong Thuy, a Vietnamese expatriate in China, who also called for payment apps to provide more human-operated customer support tailored to overseas users.

In this regard, payment platforms are expected to further integrate with international application ecosystems, streamline account registration and identity verification processes, and consolidate key travel services into a one-stop platform, said Zhang Jingze, a researcher involved in the BFSU study.

"A unified travel service app — combining payments, transportation, accommodation, ticket bookings, dining, navigation, recommendations and translation — would significantly enhance the experience for foreign visitors," Zhang said.

Zhang also noted that during the research, some older foreign travelers expressed a preference for having their younger companions handle the mobile payment transactions for them, indicating that there is still room for improvement in making current mobile payment platforms more senior-friendly.

Zhou Lanxu contributed to this story.