Ant Group and Tencent reinvigorate endeavors to embrace international credit cards in China

Ant and Tencent Revive Efforts to Accept Foreign Credit Cards in China.

Chinese tech giants Ant Group Co. Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY) will enable users to conduct transactions via their platforms using international credit cards, marking a renewed endeavor to expand payment services to global users following previous setbacks caused by COVID-related closures.

Tencent announced on June 28 that WeChat Pay network users will have the option to link foreign cards issued by Visa Inc. (V) starting from July. On June 21, Mastercard Inc. (MA) disclosed that cardholders can connect their existing cards to a digital wallet offered by Alipay, the payment platform operated by Ant.

In the late 2010s, mobile payment applications emerged as the prevailing, and oftentimes exclusive, method of making payments in China. While this has greatly benefited e-commerce within the country, it has posed challenges for foreign visitors who encounter difficulties when faced with merchants accepting only mobile payments. The prevailing solution thus far has often involved opening a Chinese bank account to gain access to Tencent's or Ant's platforms.

Commenced in 2019 but Derailed by the Pandemic

Ant's collaboration with Mastercard and Tencent's affiliation with Visa both kicked off in 2019, granting international users the convenience of utilizing their non-Chinese credit cards at designated establishments. However, the progress of these endeavors was hindered as the country grappled with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a drastic decline in international visitor numbers.

The recent declarations signify a broadening of the preceding collaborations, allowing international visitors to seamlessly utilize their foreign credit cards for transactions within the complete WeChat or Alipay networks by effortlessly linking their cards.

This expansion presents a substantial opportunity for expenditure on these platforms. In 2019, foreign tourists contributed a staggering $131 billion to mainland China's economy, and as of March 2023, global leisure travel bookings experienced a remarkable surge of 31% compared to March 2019.