On March 7th, the General Office of the State Council issued the Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services and Improving Payment Convenience, which mentioned that the needs of the elderly, foreigners coming to China and other groups should be fully considered, and the aging and internationalization service arrangements should be made.
The relevant person in charge of the People’s Bank of China said that the Opinions put forward six major tasks:
First, effectively improve the acceptance environment of bank cards to meet the needs of the elderly, foreign visitors to China and other groups of "food, housing, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, medical care" and other scenarios.
Second, adhere to the positioning of cash, continuously optimize the cash use environment, and continuously improve the level of foreign currency exchange and cash services.
The third is to further enhance the convenience of mobile payment, encourage banks, payment institutions and clearing institutions to cooperate, and make good service arrangements such as aging and internationalization.
The fourth is to better protect consumers’ right to pay. Large business districts, tourist attractions, entertainment venues, hotel accommodation and other key places above designated size must support diversified payment methods such as mobile payment, bank cards and cash.
Fifth, optimize the account opening service process, rationally implement the classified and hierarchical management of accounts, keep a close eye on key areas, key outlets and key business links, improve supporting measures for account opening, and continuously improve the service level of accounts.
Sixth, comprehensively use various ways and channels to continuously strengthen the promotion of payment services.
On the evening of March 7th, Alipay said that it was actively responding to the relevant decision-making arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, and with the support and guidance of the People’s Bank of China and the Foreign Exchange Bureau, it was solidly promoting the implementation of various measures to continuously optimize the payment services for the elderly and foreigners coming to China. It is reported that Alipay has completed the promotion and optimization of the transaction limit for foreigners, with the single transaction limit raised from $1,000 to $5,000 and the annual transaction limit raised from $10,000 to $50,000. In addition, new services such as multi-language translation and overseas wallet ride code "One Code Pass" will be launched one after another.
Tenpay said that with the support and guidance of the People’s Bank of China and the foreign exchange bureau, Tenpay has implemented a number of measures around "aging and upgrading". In terms of facilitating the payment of foreign nationals in China, simplification measures have continued to land. Since the comprehensive upgrade in July last year, the transaction volume of WeChat payment foreign cards has continued to grow. Compared with the opening of only some pilot merchants, the highest number of transactions in a single day in February 2024 increased nearly five times.