Alipay, WeChat Pay open apps to foreigners visiting China

Alipay said it’s letting travelers use a prepaid card service provided by the Bank of Shanghai while Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat Pay intends to let people more directly connect their existing cards to its app. — Bloomberg

Chinese payments giants Alipay and WeChat Pay, long a source of worry among competitors abroad, plan to open up their platforms to foreigners visiting the mainland as regulators ease restrictions.

The apps, which dominate payments across the world’s second-largest economy and have even supplanted cash at some businesses, announced the plans in rapid succession after previously requiring users to have local accounts. Opening up to visitors may give an incremental boost to spending on the platforms – but for overseas firms, it has big implications, potentially helping pave the way for future adoption abroad.