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.