Visa and Mastercard can now be used on China’s biggest payment apps. Visa and Mastercards can be used to pay for goods and services on the apps.

Visitors can now link their Visa V and Mastercard MA accounts to Chinas most popular mobile payment platforms. The move marks a revival of efforts by Alipay and WeChat Pay to accept foreign credit cards after they provided some limited access in late . The companies said previously that they were acting under the guidance of Chinese regulators as Beijing seeks to attract foreign investment and international travelers to boost its flagging economy. China is almost a cashless society with trillion in electronic transactions annually. More than of the transactions for daily consumption take place on mobile platforms according to figures from Chinese card payment company UnionPay. But for most foreign visitors accessing the apps services was previously impossible they needed to have a mainland Chinese bank account and a local mobile phone number. But only select Chinese merchants were allowed to process the cards. The two payment giants began to loosen those conditions in recent months as the country emerged from three years of stringent Covid restrictions. Last month Mastercard announced that its cardholders can pay like a local in China by linking their cards to the Alipsay app and making cashless payments at tens of millions of merchants across the country. A week later an executive from Tencent said at a forum that the company would open wider its WeChat pay system to international card organizations such as Visa starting in July. With the increasing exchanges between China and the international community China will host more largescale international events and competitions said Chen Qiru vicepresident of Tencent Financial Technology at the World Economic Forums Summer Davos meeting in Tianjin. The change takes effect immediately. Athletes and tourists from all over the world can use Alipays nationwide to enjoy various convenient services such as shopping taking taxis taking subways and visiting scenic spots. WeChat users can now linked credit or debit cards issued by Visa Mastercard JCB or Discover for payment at Tens of Millions of merchants in China the social media and gaming company said in a statement. It is expected that more and more foreign tourists have come to China and they may need to use mobile payments for basic necessities of life the Hangzhoubased fintech giant an affiliate of Alibaba Group BABA said. The companies are working to improve the mobile payment experience of foreign users in China he said. It’s hoped that the move will help boost China’s economic recovery as the world’s second largest economy continues to grow. The Chinese government has said it is working to attract more international investment and tourists to the country to boost the economy. The government has also said that it is looking into ways to make it easier for Chinese tourists to pay for goods and services in China using mobile payment systems such as WeChat and Alipaya. The changes take effect immediately and are expected to be rolled out over the next few months. It was previously announced that the Chinese government would not allow foreign visitors to link their credit cards to its mobile payment services until the end of this year. It has since been announced that China will allow foreign travelers to link cards issued to its payment platforms such as Diners Club and Discover to their digital wallets.