BEIJING — China is encouraging banks and local businesses to accept foreign bank cards and is considering other steps to make mobile pay for international visitors even easier, said Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China.
"Banks and vendors (such as hotels, restaurants, department stores and even coffee shops) are encouraged to accept foreign bankcards," Zhang said.
Shopping malls have increasingly preferred not to accept foreign credit cards.
Last summer, the two dominant mobile pay apps WeChat and AliPay started allowing verified users to connect their international credit cards — such as those from Visa .
"Now, when using Alipay or WeChat Pay, foreign visitors do not need to provide ID information if their total annual transaction volume is under $500," he said.
Persons:
Zhang Qingsong, Banks, Zhang, that's, AliPay, Tencent
Organizations:
Beijing Capital Airport, Visa, Mastercard, People's Bank of China, CNBC, Mobile, Alibaba, Ant
Locations:
BEIJING — China, Beijing, China