Alipay, WeChat Pay open up to foreign tourists
The digital payment apps of Alibaba and WeChat have helped fuel travel spending growth across China and overseas.
Alipay and WeChat Pay are undoubtedly the two big players for China’s tech-savvy shoppers but they now want to tap the spending power of inbound foreign tourists.
Both companies said foreign travellers will be able to link their overseas issued credit cards to the payment apps.
The two payment apps have also made inroads in countries popular with Chinese travellers such as Singapore, Japan and the US.
Foreign visitors are now able to download the international version of the Alipay app and link their Visa, MasterCard, or JCB card to the app.
WeChat Pay said its app will also support American Express cards.
According to a recent World Economic Forum report, the mobile payments market in China generates about $41.3 trillion in total spend.
