Transaction volumes of foreigners using overseas wallet apps to pay for goods and services in China have grown more than sevenfold, the People's Daily reported on Thursday, citing data from Chinese online payment clearing house NetsUnion Clearing Corporation.
The data is a clear result of efforts by the Chinese government in recent months to implement measures to streamline payment processes for overseas travelers, highlighting the country's ongoing commitment to enhancing high-level openness, experts noted.
In the first six months, the number of transactions of foreign wallets making domestic payments reached 28.75 million, growing 5.29 times from that of the same period last year. Meanwhile, transaction volume reached 5.32 billion yuan ($732 million), 7.67 times last year's figures.
The large increase in payment figures has effectively facilitated foreigners traveling in China and promoted bilateral trade and economic exchanges, according to the report.
In addition to enabling foreign electronic wallets, the clearing house has jointly worked with commercial banks, payment platforms and bank card clearing institutions to roll out services that allow foreigners to tie their credit cards to domestic payment apps to make payments in China.
