China News Service, Beijing, March 29 (Reporter Liu Wenwen) Shi Zeyi, deputy director of the International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, revealed in Beijing on the 29th that with the support of the People's Bank of China, work on optimizing the inbound payment environment will be further promoted.
The Ministry of Culture and Tourism held a regular press conference that day. Shi Zeyi said that in recent years, China's mobile payment business based on mobile phones and other electronic devices has become increasingly popular. In contrast, mobile payment services are not yet popular in some countries, and foreign tourists find it less convenient to use traditional payment methods in China. The country attaches great importance to this and has established a special coordination mechanism to promote the solution of this problem.
Shi Zeyi introduced that not long ago, the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Optimizing Payment Services and Improving Payment Convenience" and proposed many specific measures. The general principle is "swipe cards for large amounts, scan codes for small amounts, and pay in cash."
He introduced that large-amount card payments are based on the habit of foreign tourists paying by credit card, and POS machines are deployed in consumption scenarios such as scenic spots and hotels. At present, five-star, four-star or even three-star or above hotels in Shanghai have upgraded and renovated POS machines; airports, scenic spots, and shopping venues in many places have also installed wild card POS machines. Beijing is also accelerating the upgrading and transformation of wild card POS machines.
He further explained that for small-amount QR code scanning, there are e-wallets and other products at home and abroad, and it is not technically difficult to achieve interoperability. The main problem is that the procedures for foreign tourists to bind to China's domestic mobile payment system are relatively complicated. Currently, we are working with the platform and enterprises to solve technical and procedural issues. At the same time, we are also studying how to reduce the information that foreign tourists need to bind to domestic registration procedures, and try to increase the amount of small QR code scans while ensuring the safety of property to better meet the needs of tourists. When it comes to cash, RMB is legal tender and must be used in all consumption places.
Shi Zeyi said that with the implementation of a series of payment facilitation policies, the payment methods for overseas tourists traveling to China will become more diversified and convenient. (over)