Ant Group in response to China’s new policies to facilitate international visits, is raising the single- transaction limit for international travellers using its cross-border payment services from USD 1,000 to USD 5,000 and the annual cumulative transaction limit from USD 10,000 to USD 50,000.
On March 7th, 2024, China’s State Council released a guideline to further optimize payment services and increase payment convenience for international travellers. The People’s Bank of China (PBC) has also recently announced that it will guide payment platforms to raise the single transaction limit for foreign nationals using mobile payment services from USD 1,000 to USD 5,000 and the annual transaction limit from USD 10,000 to USD 50,000.
For expats and other international visitors, Alipay has launched a multi-language translation function for international visitors. Travel to China is expected to pick up in 2024 with new visa-free policies and efforts to increase the number of international flights. During Chinese New Year 2024, data from Alipay showed a 500% increase in spending via international card-enabled Alipay accounts at merchants in the Chinese mainland compared to 2023.
