Alipay is currently piloting, and overseas users can have a certain payment limit without identity authentication, and authentication is required if they exceed it.
Increase the mobile payment transaction limit for foreigners in China to solve the problems of identity verification and payment limits for foreigners in China when using Alipay and other payment accounts.
On March 1, the State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on State Council policies to introduce the situation of further optimizing payment services and improving payment convenience, and guided payment institutions to launch a series of convenient measures.
Among them, major payment institutions such as Alipay and Tenpay have increased the single transaction limit for foreigners in China using mobile payments from US$1,000 to US$5,000, and the annual cumulative transaction limit from US$10,000 to US$50,000.
After the meeting, Alipay and Tenpay quickly responded to relevant decisions and arrangements.
Alipay said: "Today, some of the quota increase requirements have been completed, and all will be completed in the near future. At the same time, Alipay will solidly promote the implementation of various measures under the support and guidance of the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to continue to improve the payment security of overseas users in China. sex and convenience.”
Solving identity authentication problems
China's visa-free "circle of friends" continues to expand, and exchanges between China and foreign countries are becoming increasingly closer. At the same time, a problem has arisen: foreigners in China mostly use payment methods such as bank cards and cash, which is different from the domestic payment habits of mobile payment. When using mobile payment, there are problems with real-name authentication and payment limits, which makes payment inconvenient for some foreigners in China.
Zhang Qingsong, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said that after careful investigation and analysis, the problem can be summarized as follows: "It cannot be used" because some foreign friends cannot bind overseas bank cards; "It is not easy to use" because some foreign friends have spent too much money. If the amount exceeds a certain amount, the payment cannot be made, and it feels difficult to use; if you encounter too many problems and the payment is inconvenient, you will naturally "don't want to use it", so it is a question of "can't use it", "it's not easy to use" and "don't want to use it" .
In response to these problems, the central bank guided payment institutions to launch a series of convenient measures.
The policy gift package mainly involves three major aspects:
First of all, in view of the low success rate of people coming to China to use Alipay and WeChat to bind overseas bank cards, Alipay and Tenpay are required and guided to optimize their business processes and improve the efficiency of card binding;
Secondly, simplify the identity verification arrangements to make it easier for foreigners coming to China to process a series of processes such as card binding;
More importantly, major payment institutions such as Alipay and Tenpay are guided to increase the single transaction limit for foreigners using mobile payments from US$1,000 to US$5,000, and the annual cumulative transaction limit from US$10,000 to US$50,000. .
Regarding the problem of user identity authentication, Wang Pengbo, a senior analyst in the financial industry of Broadcom Consulting, told China Business News that previously, after overseas users entered China, if they wanted to bind a third-party payment APP, they needed to make a real-name binding card, and lack of personal information was a problem. The first obstacle to cards is that overseas users are sometimes unwilling to provide basic information recognized by regulators to meet anti-money laundering needs.
In accordance with regulatory guidance, Alipay is currently undergoing a pilot program. Overseas users can have a certain payment limit without identity authentication, and authentication is required if they exceed it.
During authentication, overseas persons are supported to use six types of documents for authentication, including: passport, mainland travel permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents, mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents, residence permit for Hong Kong and Macao residents, residence permit for Taiwan residents, and permanent residence ID card for foreigners.
Zhang Qingsong said, "We are also very concerned about the protection of personal information. We will strictly require relevant agencies to implement the Personal Information Protection Law and other regulations to effectively protect the security of personal information."
Wang Pengbo also said that the central bank has also provided the most direct solutions to problems such as insufficient quota and long verification process that have been widely responded to before. It can be said that after careful research, it can solve practical problems.
However, Wang Pengbo also pointed out that payment-related practitioners cannot blindly pursue convenience and ignore possible risks. They must still take compliance as the premise and take good risk control measures in terms of identity authentication and transaction management.
External card binding and outsourcing internal use improve cross-border payment experience
In fact, since last year, Tenpay and Alipay have continued to improve their payment service levels with the support and guidance of the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. They have joined hands with commercial banks, clearing agencies and card organizations to implement "foreign card binding" and "outsourcing". "Domestic Use" service continues to improve the cross-border payment experience for overseas people.
External card binding means that after inbound users download Alipay and WeChat Pay and bind international bank cards, they can spend like Chinese people.
"We hope to share with foreign friends the payment method that Chinese people particularly like. Foreign friends can bind overseas bank cards to our Alipay or WeChat APP, and then use my country's extensive acceptance environment to complete the payment. 'Foreign card binding' is this Meaning." Zhang Qingsong said.
Outsourcing for internal use can be simply understood as inbound payment with an overseas wallet.
"E-wallets are widely used in many Southeast Asian countries. We hope that wallets used in Malaysia or other regions can also be used in China. This is 'outsourcing for internal use'." Zhang Qingsong further explained.
Mobile payment has increasingly become a bridge in cross-border business activities and cultural exchanges.
According to statistics, Alipay and Tenpay have introduced 13 overseas wallets to meet the needs of foreigners in China to use mobile payments.
Taking Malaysia's Touch'n Go eWallet as an example, consumption using the TNGD wallet has increased significantly.
Currently, more than 200,000 Malaysian users use TNGD wallets to consume and pay in China, and the transaction volume in December 2023 increased by more than 200 times compared to March.
TNG Digital CEO Alan Ni endorsed the convenient experience of TNGD wallet in China. He said: "During the Asian Games, I traveled in China. It was no problem to just use the TNGD wallet on my mobile phone for a week. As a tourist, the experience was very good. TNGD Wallet is For example, the Malaysian version of 'Alipay', Shanghai Disneyland travel, Guangzhou subway ticket purchase, etc. are all favorite consumption scenarios for Malaysian tourists."
In the past six months or so, Alan Ni's TNDG wallet has traveled not only to China, but also to Japan, Singapore, Thailand, etc.
“In the past, when traveling from Malaysia to other countries, we had to consider several things, such as calling the bank to open cross-border payments, and exchanging foreign currency. The exchange rate was often not very cost-effective; for example, the exchange rate of the foreign currency may not be just right, and it would usually be There is only a little bit left. Many people have experience that when they go to different countries, they will have a pile of small foreign currency at home and don’t know what to do with it.” Alan Ni said that for international tourists, the use of banknotes and bank cards is limited. The cumbersome use of change is a headache.
“But this year, I found a very big change. Not only going to China, but also going to other countries, cross-border payments have become much more convenient, especially through Ant’s Alipay+ innovative solution. I used to go to more than 30 countries. To download wallet apps from more than 30 countries, now Malaysians only need to use Touch 'n Go eWallet as a wallet when they see Alipay+ merchants. They don't have to worry about exchanging money anymore because it changes the exchange rate directly in the background. ." Alan Ni said.
According to statistics, in 2023, nearly 4 million immigrants used mobile payment, and the actual number of transactions exceeded 70 million, with an amount of more than 10 billion yuan.
Tenpay said it will continue to improve the cross-border payment experience to facilitate overseas people working and living in China.
Alipay said that it will also continue to optimize its services for foreigners coming to China, work with partners to introduce more services for foreign users, and further upgrade and open up high-frequency scenarios such as subway and bus ride codes; at the same time, it will expand service coverage and access more services. Card organizations and overseas e-wallets allow more international tourists to use their hometown e-wallets to scan QR codes to pay within the country; Alipay will also strengthen user promotion operations before, during and after the trip, and actively ensure payment services for major events.
First Financial Writer: Du Chuan