# Chinese payment giants revive effort to accept foreign credit cards Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2023-06-28 Category: NEWS Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/news Meta Title: Chinese Payment Giants Allow Foreign Credit Cards on WeChat Meta Description: Tencent Holdings and Ant Group now allow WeChat and Alipay users to link international Visa and Mastercard credit cards for easy payments in mainland China. URL: https://financedigest.com/chinese-payment-giants-revive-effort-to-accept-foreign-credit-cardshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/2023-06-28t092754z3lynxmpej5r094rtroptp4china-games-huawei-tencent-holdings-1736813819056-compressed.jpg) # Chinese payment giants revive effort to accept foreign credit cards By Josh Ye HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings and Ant Group said that they would allow users to link international credit cards to their platforms, an issue that has long plagued foreign visitors as the country’s payment system has kept credit cards out for years. Tencent, operator of the popular chat app WeChat and payment network WeChat Pay, said on Wednesday that WeChat users overseas can link credit cards issued by Visa Inc to their WeChat app from next month. Foreign tourists can then pay with [WeChat when traveling in mainland China](https://www.financedigest.com/apple-opens-store-on-chinas-wechat-platform.html "Apple opens store on China’s WeChat platform"). This comes after Mastercard announced last week that cardholders can link [credit or debit cards](https://www.financedigest.com/last-hope-eager-germans-are-prepared-to-pay-for-weight-loss-drug.html "“Last hope”: Eager Germans are prepared to pay for weight-loss drug") to the Alipay digital wallet where they can finally “pay like a local”. Alipay is the [mobile payment](https://www.financedigest.com/the-future-of-mobile-payments-and-e-wallets.html "The Future of Mobile Payments and E-Wallets") app owned by Ant. China’s mobile [payment network became highly closed-off to overseas tourists since mobile apps became the predominant payment method in the country in the late](https://www.financedigest.com/late-payments-not-just-a-smaller-business-issue.html "Late payments not just a smaller business issue") 2010s, triggering a boom in ecommerce. Foreign visitors often find themselves [unable to pay for things in China](https://www.financedigest.com/china-pacific-islands-unable-to-reach-consensus-on-regional-pact.html "China, Pacific islands unable to reach consensus on regional pact") where many shops and restaurants now only accept mobile payment rather than credit cards or cash. Prior to the easy card linkage change, foreigners in China typically needed to set up a Chinese [bank account to access Tencent’s and Ant’s mobile payment](https://www.financedigest.com/a-new-era-of-open-banking-is-here-a-look-at-the-future-of-payments.html "A new era of open banking is here: A look at the future of payments ") networks. Tencent and Ant had formed partnerships with Visa and Mastercard in 2019 to make foreign cards usable on their platforms. But as China closed its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic and international arrivals to the country plummeted, such initiatives had taken a [back seat](https://www.financedigest.com/decision-to-end-ecb-reinvestments-takes-back-seat-to-rate-hikes-sources-say.html "Decision to end ECB reinvestments takes back seat to rate hikes, sources say"), two people familiar with the matter said. However, the plans have [regained momentum](https://www.financedigest.com/u-s-job-growth-regains-momentum-worker-shortages-persist.html "U.S. job growth regains momentum; worker shortages persist") as China began reopening this year. Under the new setup, international [travelers can set up their foreign](https://www.financedigest.com/foreign-business-travel-missing-ingredient-for-irish-hotel-recovery-dalata.html "Foreign business travel missing ingredient for Irish hotel recovery – Dalata") cards on these apps with a few simple steps. To be sure, Tencent’s and Ant’s partnerships with Visa and [Mastercard](https://www.financedigest.com/mastercard-launches-global-plan-to-recycle-credit-cards.html "Mastercard launches global plan to recycle credit cards") in 2019 already allowed some overseas users to use their credit cards in China but at the time only select businesses were allowed to process international credit cards. Now, Tencent and Ant are opening up their entire ecosystems to foreign cards, allowing visitors to pay for a host of goods and services ranging from a quick meal at a food truck to [life insurance](https://www.financedigest.com/buying-life-insurance-after-a-diabetes-diagnosis.html "Buying Life Insurance After a Diabetes Diagnosis"). “Our efforts to further open payment services to visitors coincide with the full resumption of travel and tourism to China, as well as major upcoming [international events in the country scheduled](https://www.financedigest.com/cricket-not-enough-attention-paid-to-international-schedule-stokes.html "Cricket-Not enough attention paid to international schedule – Stokes") this year,” Tencent said in a statement on Wednesday. Overseas tourists including those from [Hong Kong](https://www.financedigest.com/luxury-yacht-owned-by-sanctioned-russian-oligarch-docked-in-hong-kong.html "Luxury yacht owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch docked in Hong Kong") and Macau spent US$131 billion in mainland China in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic. Visa and Mastercard have not replied to Reuters’ requests for comments. While [China’s mobile](https://www.financedigest.com/totalenergies-china-three-gorges-to-form-electric-mobility-venture-in-china.html "TotalEnergies, China Three Gorges to form electric mobility venture in China") payment networks have been closed off to foreign-issued credit cards, domestically issued credit cards under Visa and Mastercard have long been supported. (Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Kim Coghill) --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---