UnionPay and Weixin Pay expand payment options for tourists in China

By Gloria Methri

UnionPay International and Weixin Pay have partnered to allow users of international UnionPay-powered wallets to scan Weixin Pay payment codes in the Chinese mainland. This partnership aims to provide international visitors with more payment options and a better experience.

Eight wallets are now able to offer this feature, namely BoC Pay from Bank of China (Hong Kong), Octopus, PayMe by HSBC, and Tap & Go in Hong Kong SAR; Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking and K PLUS from KASIKORNBANK in Thailand; Naver Pay in South Korea; and ICBC Mobile Banking (ICBC Pay) in Malaysia.

Once users link their physical UnionPay cards or activate digital UnionPay cards in the participating wallets, they will be able to pay by scanning Weixin Pay payment codes in China with their home currencies automatically converted to the RMB. In the future, Weixin QR payments will also be enabled for more UnionPay-powered wallets from Macao SAR, other Southeast Asia countries, the South Pacific, and more regions.

Starting in June, UnionPay App users were able to scan the various merchant-presented Weixin Pay codes and make payments. This new enablement with international wallets marks the latest milestone in their collaboration to enhance payment interoperability.

Back in 2018, UnionPay worked with Weixin Pay and WeChat Pay HK, a HKD-denominated e-wallet, to offer a cross-border payment solution which supports cross-border consumption for Hong Kong residents at more than tens of millions of merchants in the Chinese mainland.

In recent years, as UnionPay continues to improve its localised offerings, an increasing number of residents outside the Chinese mainland now enjoy the convenient services brought by UnionPay’s payment products.

Outside the Chinese mainland, over 250 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 83 countries and regions, and more than 200 wallets have been launched in 36 countries and territories. These products can be used on UnionPay’s acceptance network worldwide.