China is advancing its commitment to make mobile payments more accessible to foreigners, showing its determination to open up its digital economy at a higher level.

　　Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the Chinese central bank, People's Bank of China, said measures will be taken to ease the use of mobile payments for overseas visitors. This includes raising the single transaction limit on platforms such as Alipay and Tenpay from 1,000 to 5,000 USD and the annual transaction cap from 10,000 to 50,000 USD. Moreover, efforts are being made to simplify identity verification and streamline processes like enabling foreigners to link their international credit cards to Chinese mobile payment apps. The central bank has also directed payment institutions to introduce user-friendly features.

　　This move comes as China, having seen rapid growth in mobile payment adoption with an 86 percent penetration rate by the end of 2023, aims to tackle the challenges faced by first-time visitors. Foreigners often find it difficult to make payments using their bank cards or cash as many local businesses and service providers prefer mobile transactions.

　　Addressing these challenges, Hainan province in south China has initiated public testing of a program aimed at easing payment transactions for foreign tourists. The program, encompassing 238,000 businesses including major tourist attractions, enables transactions via VISA and MasterCard, along with electronic wallets like Apple Pay, through near-field communication-capable Android smartphones.

　　The integration of these measures is set to transform the payment experience for overseas visitors. It not only reflects the efforts of Chinese financial institutions to provide a convenient payment environment akin to that enjoyed by locals, but also indicates China's unswerving attitude of opening up.

　　Meanwhile, regulations have been strengthened to ensure privacy protection and the secure use of mobile payments, addressing concerns over the supervision of non-bank payment institutions.

　　According to Sun Yeli, minister of China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, since overseas tourists are still accustomed to using POS machines, which many Chinese haven't used for a while, the authority is now planning to make them redeployed and upgraded to provide more convenient services to foreign tourists, including payment channels.