MILAN, June 28 (Class Editori) -- Chinese technology giants Tencent and Ant will allow credit card payments through their systems to foreign citizens after over 10 years. Tencent, which operated the WeChat messaging app and the WeChat Pay payment network, said WeChat users abroad will be able to link Visa-issued credit cards to their WeChat app starting next month.
This will allow foreign tourists to pay with their credit or debit cards, which will be linked to WeChat, when travelling in China. Last week, Mastercard made a similar move, announcing that holders of its cards will be able to link them to Alipay, the digital payment service offered by Ant.
According to Reuters, the decision by the two Chinese tech giants shakes up the digital card payment industry in China, where mobile apps have become the predominant payment method since late 2010, making card payments difficult for foreign visitors. In recent years, foreign travelers were forced to set up a Chinese bank account to access Tencent and Ant's networks.
The two companies had formed partnerships with Visa and Mastercard back in 2019 to allow foreign circuits to lean on their platforms, but the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had blocked any such development.
"Our efforts to further open payment services to foreign visitors coincides with the full recovery of travel and tourism in China, as well as major international events scheduled to take place in the country this year," Tencent stated in a note.
(Source:Class Editori)
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