Explainer | How easily can foreigners travel to China and spend money in August 2024?

China welcomed 14.64 million international visitors in the first half of 2024, representing a 153 per cent increase from a year prior

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Since late last year, China has relaxed a wide range of policies, including visa-free entry. Photo: Xinhua

Danielle Popov

Published: 8:00pm, 3 Aug 2024

China has been pulling out the stops to bring back tourists after relaxing its zero-Covid restrictions in late 2022.

The moves have included expansions of visa-free travel schemes, as well as efforts to optimise payment methods, which have been seen as a hurdle for foreigners who want to spend money in a society that has gone largely cashless in the span of just a few years.

What payment options have been eased for foreigners in China?

With few businesses accepting international credit cards, coupled with a curbing of cash payments across the country, foreigners have lamented how difficult it can be to open their wallets in China.

Chinese mobile payment platforms, dominated by domestic firms, cater to locals and restrict use by foreigners due to financial and data-control laws.

But in late July, the People’s Bank of China vowed to make it more convenient for visitors to make payments in China amid a wider effort to lure back overseas tourists and foreign investment.

Yan Fang, head of the PBOC’s Payment and Settlement Department, said foreign visitors could flexibly choose among various payment methods, including bank cards, cash and mobile payments, according to state media.