A recent report revealed that foreigners visiting China can now enjoy cashless purchases in the country. They may shop at local stores and pay through their mobile phone courtesy of the Alipay app.
According to Quartz, China now allows its short-term visitors to download a version of the Alipay application on their phones and pay their purchases by using QR codes.
According to a statement released this Wednesday by its parent company Ant Financial, the app is offered to the visitors as a part of the 'tour pass' program. They may utilize their prepaid card service through the Bank of Shanghai.
Travelers may also top up their card to reflect as Chinese yuan through their usual debit or credit cards. At present, digital payments in China are governed by the WeChat Pay and Alipay mobile wallets. The visitors cannot use these services at present unless they provide a local phone number or open a Chinese bank account.
Alipay has accumulated transactions amounting to $3.8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018 alone, reported China Internet Watch. Tencent's WeChat Pay, on the other hand, has garnered some $2.7 trillion within the same period.
The report indicated that WeChat Pay and Union Pay may boost tourism in China. It may, however, face pressure to offer similar programs to 30 million international visitors in China.
On other news, the Financial Times revealed that Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, also restructured their business allowing Alibaba to take 33 percent and clear the way for an Ant Financial IPO.
The report indicated that competitors of Alipay such as UnionPay and WeChat Pay may also feel threatened by the said move. Since the same service may be offered to foreigners visiting China, the director at Chanson and Co. Shen Meng revealed that Alipay continues to dominate the services offered to foreign visitors. However, their dominance may be short-lived with the other companies looking to take a similar strategy.
At present, the minimum top-up for each prepaid card in China is valued at 100 yuan of 14 USD. The report mentioned that foreign visitors may only purchase up to 2,000 yuan or 250 USD per visit and may only last up to 90 days. During which, the unused balance would also be refunded by the time the visitors leave the country.
Meng also revealed that the launch of the cashless service would significantly improve the customer satisfaction of foreign visitors in China. He said that the app is also flexible and may be used in many scenarios other than shopping in local stores.
