CGTN’s Post

“Step by step, China has been encouraging more foreigners to enter the country since reopening after the pandemic, including waiving visa requirements for citizens from over a dozen more countries and making local digital payment services more international-user friendly. It has been more than a year since Beijing began allowing international travel en masse, but still flights and the flow of visitors from countries such as the U.S. are nowhere near 2019 levels. Sour relations with the West and years of strict ‘zero-Covid’ curbs are partly responsible for the sharp reduction in the number of visitors to China. But there are also pre-existing hurdles for foreigners that the government and local businesses are trying to knock down. Over the three years during Covid, China rolled out a comprehensive digitalized information network, where daily activities like mobile payments, online shopping, reserving restaurants or booking hotels can be completed with a few touches on apps like WeChat or Alipay.” “It has not only put in-person ordering, pay-by-cash transactions out of the picture, but also out of the option for many foreign visitors. Now, following a push by the central bank to slash payment barriers for foreign users, commercial banks and nonbank payment institutions have since late last year been encouraging more businesses — especially those at airports, train stations and major business districts — to accept foreign bank cards. The country’s two digital payment behemoths, Alipay and WeChat Pay, have also been instructed to up transaction limits and simplify verification procedures. Earlier this month, they joined forces with central bank-backed NetsUnion Clearing Corp. (NUCC) to optimize the use of foreign bank cards and digital wallets on the Chinese mainland. NUCC is a specialized clearinghouse designed for processing online payments initiated by nonbank payment platforms, such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, that involve bank accounts.” “The trio aim to allow international users to use overseas cards with local payment systems more easily and ensure interoperability between the systems and foreign digital wallets, sources with knowledge of the matter told Caixin. So far, Alipay and WeChat Pay have allowed users of 13 overseas online wallets to make payments on the mainland. In the first half of last year, there were 477,800 inbound visits received by China’s travel agencies, compared with nearly 8.6 million in the same period in 2019, before the Covid pandemic, according to Xinhua News Agency, citing data from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In September, Ctrip, China’s largest online travel agency, launched the China Travel Guide on its international platform Trip.com. Shen Jiani, a senior researcher at the Ctrip Research Institute, told Caixin that to improve the quality of inbound tourism services, attention should still be paid to improving the foreign language proficiency and international reception capabilities.”

.....what an interesting time and place for Sibos, considering elections, politics, friction in cross border payments, real-time....see you there...#PayEdeducationinpayments #paymentsinnovation #emergingpaymentsassociationasia

🇨🇳 Exciting News for German Travelers! 🇩🇪✈️ Attention to all German passport holders! China has recently announced an extension of the visa-free stay period to 30 days for ordinary passport holders from Germany. This favourable policy, effective from November 30th, 2024, until December 31, 2025, allows for hassle-free travel encompassing business engagements, tourism adventures, and heartfelt visits to relatives and friends. It's the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in the rich culture and vibrant experiences that China has to offer! When venturing into the tech-savvy landscape of China, be prepared for a cashless experience unlike anywhere else. Embracing the digital era, locals seamlessly navigate daily life with just a smartphone in hand, utilizing Alipay or WeChat Pay Apps for all transactions. For travelers exploring China, I recommend familiarizing yourself with Alipay for a convenient and efficient payment experience. To use Alipay: - Download the Alipay app and connect it with your bank card. - When making a purchase, the seller usually shows a QR code. Simply scan it, and the payment is complete. - Alternatively, you can open your Alipay app to display your QR code for the seller to scan, making the payment process effortless. Transactions. Digital payments like Alipay have been popular for over a decade and are proven to be very secure, so no worry about the security. Discover the beauty of China with ease and embrace the future of travel! 🌏✨ #TravelToChina #VisaFreeTravel #DigitalExperience

Is accepting foreign cards complicated and time-consuming? As the "Fan King of Hongqiao," who’s been in the fan business for over 30 years, puts it: "It’s easy to set up, no training needed, and payments are as simple as a snap." By enabling foreign card acceptance and offering multiple payment options, international tourists can enjoy a secure and hassle-free payment experience—unlocking new business opportunities in the process. Thanks to China’s 240-hour visa-free transit policy, the door to a world of travel and business opportunities is wide open. Now, whether you're visiting Beijing or other vibrant cities, you can enjoy a seamless experience from the moment you arrive. Make 2025 the year you explore all that China has to offer—where convenience, business, and adventure meet. #Visa #GlobalPayments #VisaFree #ExploreChina2025 #EasyTravel #InternationalTourism #HappyNewYear #Beijing2025 #NewYearTravel #240HoursVisaFree #ChinaTravel #VisitBeijing #Beijing

💰 Alipay saw a SURGE in transactions by foreign travelers. Is China tourism finally bouncing back? 📈 China's National Immigration Bureau reports a 300% increase in foreign visitor entries in Q1 2024, while Alipay revealed that the number of TRANSACTIONS made by foreign visitors in China through their platform this March grew TENFOLD YoY. Transaction volume and active foreigner user numbers also rose nearly eightfold and sixfold, respectively.  🚧 Despite the impressive numbers, inbound tourism recovery has been rather SLUGGISH, reaching only 43% of 2019 levels by 2023 (China's National Bureau of Statistics). Ever since China reopened their borders, the main hurdles of recovery include:  🔸 Limited international flights  🔸 Difficulties in obtaining visas 🔸 Trouble accessing MOBILE PAYMENTS 🌐 Fortunately, policy changes are easing the first two entry barriers, such as visa exemptions for 23 countries and regions worldwide. But the third remains a big obstacle.  📱 Unlike Western countries that often use credit cards, China boasts a digital economy with a NEAR 90% mobile payment adoption rate, especially via WeChat Pay and Alipay. The reliance on Chinese mobile apps for transactions poses a significant challenge for international travelers unfamiliar with these ubiquitous platforms.  💳 Efforts are underway to ease the use of mobile payment systems for foreigners. WeChat and Alipay now support OVERSEAS bank card organizations, including Visa, Mastercard, Discover Global Network, and JCB. Verification policies of digital payment apps have also been relaxed. 🛍️ Though this has yielded good results, significant efforts are still needed for inbound tourism to return to pre-pandemic levels. Improving travel CONVENIENCE, technology USER-FRIENDLINESS, and service ACCESSIBILITY are all priorities that need to be addressed promptly to see a full recovery any time soon. 🤔 What do you think? What key factors need to be addressed to drive inbound tourism? Many thanks to William Zhou on Jing Daily and Sam Huang on East Asia Forum for your insightful sharing. #China #Tourism #Alipay #WeChatPay #MobilePayment 

📈 Alipay saw a TENFOLD YoY growth of transactions made by foreign travellers in China this March. But inbound tourism recovery still has a LONG way to go, reaching only 43% of 2019 levels by 2023 according to China's National Bureau of Statistics. 🚧 3 main roadblocks include limited international flights, difficulties in obtaining visas, and trouble accessing MOBILE PAYMENTS. The first 2 are alleviated by policy changes like visa exemptions. 📱But because China is so reliant on mobile apps like WeChat and Alipay, foreigners unfamiliar with these apps face troubles with transactions. Thus, improving travel CONVENIENCE, technology USER-FRIENDLINESS, and service ACCESSIBILITY are all areas that need to be addressed to better facilitate recovery.

Credit goes to Wang Xiangwei, initially posted in SCMP: //After nearly three years of self-imposed isolation to combat COVID-19, China reopened its borders at the end of 2022. The initial anticipation that tourists and business travellers would flood back evaporated quickly. Foreigners are deterred from visiting China for multiple reasons, from the difficulties of securing visas and moving around the country to rising international concerns about China’s #geopolitical tensions with the West. There is also the predominantly negative Western media coverage of China’s #political and #economic developments, partly driven by China’s pivot to national security and its support for Russia after the invasion of #Ukraine. The problem with China these days is that every decision takes much longer to be implemented, with great awkwardness and difficulty. China announced it had rolled out the red carpet to outsiders more than a year ago, but its embassies and consulates still require visa applicants to go through cumbersome processes. Whether those inducements (such as visa-free travel and linking international cards to Alipay and WeChat Pay) will encourage more to visit remains to be seen. The difficulties of spending money in China are just a minor concern for foreign travellers, businesspeople in particular. Last year, foreign direct investment into China fell for the first time in over a decade, according to official data, as Western governments and #businesses talk about “#derisking” and “#friendshoring”. Chinese officials are apparently concerned, hence the slew of measures to reassure investors. The country needs foreign investment to bolster its slowing economy, not least because overseas firms employ tens of millions of Chinese workers. But do China’s leaders truly appreciate the multitude and scale of concerns foreigners have about the country?// This is a very timely question. Bureaucrats know, but nowadays, centralised power, hubris, politics, ideology, and deference trump pragmatism. Moreover, the current impasse is driven by self-inducing fear. Would bureaucrats listen when they conflate criticism with malicious interference? #greatpowercompetition

This is a very roundabout way to be critical of Article 23. "My Luckin Coffee encounter, however, highlights the cons of a cashless society, with daily life increasingly inconvenient for older, cash-using Chinese and overseas visitors – just as the government is keen to welcome back foreign tourists and businesspeople." China wants to be modern, and its every tech to be the envy of all. It is willing to accept some brickbats if the West is slower. That is not the point. It is not hard to get to do epayments in China. Just cumbersome. "The problem with China these days is that every decision takes much longer to be implemented, and with great awkwardness and difficulty. China announced it had rolled out the red carpet to outsiders more than a year ago but its embassies and consulates still required visa applicants to go through cumbersome processes." Why? Because there is a need to verify that you are NOT A SPY first, and ask you which 16 countries that you have travelled to in the last 5 years. Because China is so good that you want to crawl through glass to get there. "When the authorities finally realised foreigners were not flooding in, they started to take effective measures including granting visa-free travel to visitors from some Western countries, including Germany and France." And lost a lot of goodwill from the pro-China (as opposed to pro-CCP) westerners because of a wasted year. Some of them have moved on. "But do China’s leaders truly appreciate the multitude and scale of concerns foreigners have about the country? (Nope.) It is hard to be sure. For instance, China’s past success in attracting overseas investment have led some officials to develop a complacency bordering on arrogance: believing the country’s middle class of over 400 million is too big a market to miss, and that investors, although burned, would return." Well, maybe in 1999. Or 1989. "As Beijing and Hong Kong officials brace for a fallout from the Article 23 legislation, due to be completed soon, it is neither absurd nor sensationalistic to think Google or other foreign social media companies could leave the city, either of their own will or under pressure from their governments. In the unlikely event that they do, what would the future hold for Hong Kong?" Google etc will not leave HK immediately. They will leave because user numbers fall as many of the Western expats leave, and ad rev drops accordingly - making any regulatory straw that breaks the camel's back that much closer. But China (HK has no choice) believes that its time has come and it is through with bending over to get FDI, it wants secure borders, China First to be the theme. And somehow we will like it. Because we do not have choices. The problem is that we have choices. We always did. Investors will just invest less in China and more elsewhere. China will also have to realise that it has to generate more financing internally - oh, there is a inverted yield curve now?

Watch how governments can put payments data insights into action. Visa’s web-based solution offers unique snapshots of spending trends based on anonymized and aggregated payments data — supporting efforts to grow tourism, strengthen small businesses, and enhance economic insight. Learn more about the Visa Government Insights Hub: https://lnkd.in/ezVyQ8DU #Government #PaymentsIntelligence #Visa

I enjoyed the discussion with Ramil Basuel, Emma Hickman, Tomas Ramalhete recently on the challenges and opportunities in measuring the impact of government initiatives and economic performance and the role that payments data can play in this regard. Some of the key insights that resonated for me included; - Payment spend is recognised as a key input into formulation of government strategy and infrastructure investment related to the tourism industry because it informs where tourists arrive from, how long they stay, where they visit, their night time vs day trip habits and spending mix - Access to actual economic activity data is challenging and often involves triangulation of reported data sets. Payments data has a clear advantage here. - Payments data is an early indicator or economic growth or decline and can equally measure fiscal stimulus impacts. Focusing on the health of Small Business payments data helps with early warning signs. Visa takes Data Privacy extremely seriously and has strict data use policies and review / approval frameworks in place. It was reassuring to hear how important this was also for Government agencies too. #visa #governmentdatainsights