China's leading mobile payment platforms, Alipay and WeChat, revealed that they now allow tourists with foreign debit and credit cards to make payments and other transactions through the platforms.
For Alipay, foreigners traveling to China can now download the app on iOS and Android smartphones wherein they can register for the app's international version using their foreign mobile numbers - a feature that previously unavailable.
For WeChat Pay, the announcement was made by owner Tencent, with Visa responding to the Chinese payments giant's announcement of adopting an international version for foreigners.
Before WeChat Pay and Alipay announced that international users can now access the platforms for their shopping sprees in China and other related transactions, foreign visitors were required to obtain a Chinese bank account before using the platforms.
So far, the international cards that the two mobile payment platforms will support are Japan's JBC, Mastercard, Visa, and Singapore's Diners Club card. It remains to be seen whether any of the two platforms will cater to other cards in the near future.
Over the past years, China's leaders in mobile transactions have been wooing international merchants for partnerships that will allow tourists to make transactions even without a Chinese bank account.
China's leading mobile payment platforms, Alipay and WeChat, revealed that they now allow tourists with foreign debit and credit cards to make payments and other transactions through the platforms.
For WeChat Pay, the announcement was made by owner Tencent, with Visa responding to the Chinese payments giant's announcement of adopting an international version for foreigners.
So far, the international cards that the two mobile payment platforms will support are 
