On March 1st, the State Council Information Office held a routine policy briefing, where various departments including the People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange introduced the relevant details of the "Further Optimizing Payment Services to Enhance Payment Convenience." This has recently been reviewed and approved by the executive meeting of the State Council.
3月1日，国务院新闻办公室举行政策例行吹风会，中国人民银行、国家发展改革委、交通运输部、商务部、文化和旅游部、国家外汇局等部门介绍“进一步优化支付服务提升支付便利性”有关情况，一起关注。日前，国务院常务会议审议通过了《关于进一步优化支付服务，提升支付便利性的意见》。
People's Bank of China / 中国人民银行：
① Promote the acceptance of foreign bank cards at key locations and merchants. 推动重点场所和重点商户受理境外银行卡。
② Continuously enhance foreign currency exchange and cash services. 持续提升外币兑换和现金服务水平。
③ Take into account the special needs of groups such as the elderly and foreign visitors in China, further improving the convenience of mobile payments. 充分考虑老年人、外籍来华人员等群体的特殊需求，进一步提升移动支付便利性。
④ Address the low success rate of binding overseas bank cards to payment platforms like Alipay and WeChat for foreign visitors in China. Instruct these platforms to optimize business processes and increase card binding efficiency. 针对外籍来华人员使用支付宝、微信绑定境外银行卡成功率低的问题，要求、指导支付宝、财付通优化业务流程，提高绑卡效率。
⑤ Simplify identity verification, making it more convenient for foreign visitors in China to handle processes such as card binding. Strictly enforce regulations like the "Personal Information Protection Law" to effectively protect personal information security. 简化身份验证安排，使外籍来华人员在绑卡等一系列过程中更便捷办理。同时，严格要求相关机构落实《个人信息保护法》等法规规定，切实保护个人信息安全。
⑥ Guide major payment institutions such as Alipay and WeChat to raise the single transaction limit for mobile payments by foreign visitors in China from $1,000 to $5,000 and the annual cumulative transaction limit from $10,000 to $50,000. 指导支付宝、财付通等主要支付机构将外籍来华人员使用移动支付的单笔交易限额由1000美元提高到5000美元、年累计交易限额由1万美元提高到5万美元。
Ministry of Transport / 交通运输部：
① Accelerate the popularization of online ticket sales networks, and promote the use of electronic tickets, allowing domestic and foreign individuals to purchase tickets online with various documents such as ID cards, passports, and foreign permanent residence permits. 加快普及网络售票，推广应用电子客票，方便国内外人员持身份证、护照、外国人永居证等多种证件线上购票。
② Actively encouraging relevant enterprises to support foreign friends in binding overseas bank cards to Alipay and UnionPay, and use QR codes for city buses and subways. 积极推动相关企业支持外国朋友通过支付宝、云闪付绑定境外银行卡，使用二维码扫码乘坐城市公交和轨道交通。
③ Optimize travel environments by advancing transportation accessibility upgrades for the elderly, improving multilingual signage at transportation hubs, and providing bilingual announcements and service guidance on eligible passenger routes and rail transit stations, making travel more convenient for the elderly and foreign visitors. 优化出行环境。推进交通运输适老化改造，完善交通枢纽多语种标识，在具备条件的客运航线、轨道交通站点进行双语播报和服务引导，为老年人、外国朋友出行提供便利。
④ Continuously promote taxi services through the 95128 hotline and app-based ride-hailing services, optimizing the car rental process for foreign individuals. Actively launch domestic waterway passenger routes and improve the service level of international cruises. 改善服务体验。持续推广出租汽车95128电话约车服务、网约车“一键叫车”服务，优化外籍人员租车流程。积极开展国内水路客运精品航线试点，提升国际邮轮的服务水平。
State Administration of Foreign Exchange / 国家外汇局:
① Continue to encourage more foreign currency exchange institutions to provide higher-quality exchange services for foreign visitors in China. 国家外汇管理局将继续推动更多外币兑换机构为外籍来华人员提供更加优质的兑换服务。
② Ensure foreign exchange services at airports, prioritizing the placement of foreign exchange institutions and facilities at arrival points. 做好机场外币兑换服务保障，引导在机场到达口优先布设外币兑换机构和设施。
③ Guarantee that important locations such as ports and foreign-related hotels have at least one of the five types of foreign exchange channels. These include bank branches with exchange signs, ATMs supporting withdrawals with overseas bank cards, bank-authorized foreign exchange agencies, personal foreign exchange franchise agencies, and self-service exchange machines. 确保口岸、涉外酒店等重要场景具备5类外币兑换渠道中的至少一种，这5种兑换渠道主要是有兑换标识的银行网点、支持使用境外银行卡提现的ATM机、银行授权的外币代兑机构、个人本外币兑换特许机构、自助兑换机等。
④ Encourage eligible personal foreign exchange franchise agencies and bank branches to expand the supply of currency varieties. 鼓励有条件的个人本外币兑换特许机构和银行网点扩大外币兑换的币种。
⑤ Further meet the mobile payment and online consumption needs of foreign visitors in China, continuously improving existing business processes, and strongly supporting the innovation of various secure and convenient payment service products. 进一步满足外籍来华人员移动支付和线上消费需求，持续完善现有的业务流程，大力支持各类安全便捷的支付服务产品创新。
From: the State Council of PRC
Contact Us
Hello 👋
Chat now by scanning the QR code with wechat.
