The Shanghai counselor suggests improving the convenience of payment for inbound travelers. Foreign tourists exclaim that they need to scan the QR code to pay for any store they enter. | Payment | Foreign tourists
"Shanghai has a rich and delicious variety of snacks, but it's inconvenient to pay by scanning the QR code when entering any store!" Egyptian tourist Abin praised the attractions and restaurants when talking about his recent travel experience in Shanghai, but gave a negative score to the payment method.
With the resolution of the epidemic and economic recovery, Shanghai's communication and interaction with the international community are gradually recovering, and overseas tourists are also increasing. However, the lack of convenient payment for consumption remains a major pain point that hinders international tourists from entering the country for consumption. Recently, WeChat and Alipay have announced the comprehensive upgrade of international bank card user services and the launch of a new international version of services, but there are still foreign tourists who are affected by differences in payment habits and security and privacy concepts and have low acceptance of mobile payment.
How to alleviate payment pain points and improve the convenience of payment services? Recently, the Municipal Government Counselor Research Group conducted a survey on improving the convenience of domestic payments for inbound individuals. The counselors suggest promoting the collaborative efforts of government departments and various market entities to break through the bottlenecks of card swiping and mobile payment, and to form a good payment environment as soon as possible.
Business shrinkage, many wild card POS machines exit the market
Before Japanese tourist Sato came to Shanghai for a trip, he had already exchanged Chinese yuan in cash and brought two VISA cards. However, he still ran into trouble. "Many merchants do not have external card swiping machines, so I can only use cash, and some merchants cannot change," Sato smiled. Due to inconvenience in payment, he saved him a lot of money, but also left a regret. "I was interested in a set of porcelain, but when I paid for it, I found that the POS machine was still an old version and I couldn't swipe my credit card. I didn't have enough cash with me, so I had to part ways."
Gu Xiaomin, a counselor of the municipal government and leader of the research group, said that currently, China is at the forefront of the world in the field of third-party mobile payments. Mobile payments are the main channel for daily consumer payments, while many countries and regions, including developed countries in Europe and America, still use card swiping and cash as the main payment forms. Not many people use mobile payments, and different payment habits have caused them payment difficulties when entering Shanghai.
The research conducted by the counselor found that in recent years, due to the impact of the epidemic and financial regulatory policies, the foreign card acquiring business has gradually shrunk, and many foreign card POS machines have withdrawn from the market. Currently, most banks have withdrawn from the foreign card acquiring business market.
It is difficult to find card payment machines and the card swiping rate is low, which is a common feeling among overseas tourists. "Except for foreign-related hotels, many consumer venues are not equipped with foreign card POS machines, and the catering industry almost always uses QR code payment, which makes foreign tourists feel very inconvenient," said Gu Xiaomin.
The research group commissioned Huifu Tianxia to select 401 merchants from commercial districts and landmarks with high frequency of domestic and foreign tourists throughout the city for on-site sampling research. The results showed that foreign tourists preferred to use card swiping and cash payments the most. However, among the 401 surveyed merchants, only 183 installed foreign card POS machines, accounting for 45.39%, less than half. At the same time, due to the high service charge for swiping a foreign card, the single charge rate is basically 2.5% -3.5%, far higher than 3.8% of Alipay. Many merchants are more willing to guide foreign tourists to use cash or Alipay, WeChat, and the swiping rate of a foreign card is only 23.19%.
Strict limits and low acceptance of mobile payments
In China, it is very convenient for people to use mobile payment for consumption. So are foreign tourists willing to open mobile payment such as Alipay or WeChat?
Recently, Alipay announced the launch of a new international version to further optimize the whole payment process experience for overseas tourists, which can be tied to five major overseas mainstream international bank cards. WeChat also announced that WeChat Pay has completed a comprehensive upgrade of international bank card user services. This also means that foreign tourists will be able to more conveniently activate and use mobile payments. However, there are still concerns about this. The reporter interviewed five short-term tourists in Shanghai at random. In addition to one tourist who opened Alipay, the other four have not yet opened mobile payment. Some people expressed concern about the risk of using foreign cards to bind cards for payment, such as the use of mobile payment may lead to personal information disclosure, or theft risk.
Due to the lack of mobile payment, these tourists are hindered in many aspects such as taking taxis, visiting tourist attractions, and dining. "You need to swipe the QR code to make an appointment when you go to the scenic spot, and you need to swipe the code when you have a meal." A tourist from Israel told the reporter that the front desk of the hotel had booked a taxi for him to go to the Bund. When he came back from his trip, he found that he could not take a taxi back. Andy, an American tourist, visited Shanghai and Hangzhou during the summer vacation. "All the way, my Chinese friend paid for it on my behalf, and then I transferred the money to him.".
The research team found that the acceptance of mobile payments by overseas tourists is relatively low and the limit is strict. Most foreigners who have been stationed in Shanghai for a long time have already applied for internal cards and can skillfully use Alipay and WeChat. However, foreign tourists or business people who enter the country for a short period of time are often influenced by differences in payment habits and security and privacy concepts, resulting in a lower acceptance of using foreign cards for mobile payments.
Even if a consumption card is bound, there is still a limit issue. It is understood that at present, the single payment limit of Alipay bound with overseas bank cards is 3000 yuan, with a monthly cumulative amount of 50000 yuan and an annual cumulative amount of 60000 yuan. "The limit of mobile payment can meet the needs of dining, accommodation, and tourist attractions, but it is difficult to meet the needs of inbound people to purchase high-value goods such as jewelry, porcelain, and watches, and it is also not conducive to local brands going abroad," said Gu Xiaomin.
Breaking through bottlenecks and forming a full chain of payment convenience
The issue of domestic payment for inbound individuals is not only a necessary aspect of deepening the construction of an international consumption center city, but also relates to Shanghai's long-term opening up and development. In the view of the counselors, in order for Shanghai to become an outstanding global city by 2035, it is necessary for Shanghai to have significant influence on the prices of global production factors, global business opportunities, and investment attractiveness. The realization of global business opportunities and investment attractiveness cannot be achieved without convenient transaction payment services.
How to break through bottlenecks and create a good payment environment? The counselors believe that it is necessary to strengthen the overall planning and design at the municipal level, systematically investigate and sort out common scenarios and problems in the domestic consumption process of inbound individuals, organize departments such as commerce, finance, cultural tourism, transportation, foreign affairs, and public security to jointly study and formulate targeted policy measures, and overcome key bottlenecks.
"The first stop of entry is the key to solving the problem of payment convenience." Gu Xiaomin believes that to move the payment convenience checkpoint to the entry site, it is recommended to set up specialized payment service counters at the first stop of entry for foreign nationals such as airports and docks, providing currency exchange, promoting mobile payment applications, and helping to download and use services. "This not only provides help for inbound individuals to understand the relevant situation in the first time, quickly integrate into Shanghai life, but also avoids their negative impression of the entire city due to payment issues after leaving the station.".
"Domestic payment is a systematic project, and in addition to facilitating the forward movement of checkpoints, various payment scenarios need to be expanded." Gu Xiaomin believes that in addition to commercial outlets and financial institutions, domestic payment also involves various aspects, such as booking tickets for tourist attractions, performances and exhibitions, sports events, etc., taking taxis, public transportation, renting vehicles, purchasing air tickets and tickets, medical, beauty, experiential consumption, and service consumption, etc. This requires the coordination and connectivity of the entire chain and scene.
In June this year, the Shanghai Branch of the People's Bank of China and the Municipal Commission of Commerce jointly issued a notice on further optimizing domestic payment services for inbound individuals. The notice requires 12 key commercial districts as key areas to create a safe and convenient environment for accepting foreign cards. In the view of the counselors, although this has basically covered the famous commercial areas in the city, it is still necessary to strengthen the layout of certain characteristic areas and industries based on the consumption preferences and actual needs of foreigners. For example, combining the preferences of foreigners for Chinese history and traditional culture, layout should be carried out in Zhujiajiao, Guangfulin Park, etc., and combining the medical and beauty needs of some foreigners, relevant industries and units should be arranged.
Given the serious lack of coverage of POS machines for external card swiping payments and the mainstream trend of mobile scanning payments, the counselors suggest upgrading and rearranging the POS machines to promote the application of intelligent POS machines that are compatible with comprehensive functions such as card swiping, scanning, and online monitoring.
The research group also suggests studying and improving the mobile payment services for foreign cards, organizing relevant departments and enterprises to explore and pilot in simplifying procedures, relaxing payment limits, and strengthening supervision of technological means while ensuring financial security. If conditions are ripe, corresponding policy measures can be introduced to promote implementation. At the same time, relevant government departments should provide guidance and support to domestic third-party payment institutions that are willing and capable of acquiring foreign cards.
