Chinese authorities have announced new measures aimed at improving payment services for international travellers. The State Administration for Market Regulation and the National Data Administration have issued a circular introducing a pilot program in eight cities. The program will simplify the process for individual businesses to obtain mobile payment codes that accept foreign credit cards.
Cities involved in the pilot program include Suzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Wuhan, Changsha, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Xi'an. The measures will affect more than 11 million businesses, accounting for about 9.3 % of the total nationwide.
The Chinese mainland welcomed about 95 million foreign tourists in the first nine months of this year, an increase of 55.4 % from the previous year. This growth is partly due to the expansion of the visa-free transit regime.
China has long been committed to improving access to payment services for foreign visitors. In March, the State Council issued guidelines to optimise card payments, and in April, major tourist attractions were ordered to accept both domestic and foreign payment cards.
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