With over 340 promotional activities lined up, Shenzhen has launched an international shopping carnival that aims to bring diverse and high-quality consumption experiences to domestic and foreign visitors.
The 2024 Shenzhen International Shopping Carnival, which will run until April, aims to facilitate payment in shopping, accommodation, transportation, and sightseeing for overseas travelers.
To provide an extra option for overseas travelers' consumption, Shenzhen has activated the use of the nation's first self-service card-issuing machine for overseas travelers so that they can efficiently and safely obtain digital yuan at the Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.
Major Chinese banks have also provided targeted and exclusive discounts to tap into the needs of overseas consumers coming to Shenzhen for consumption.
Meanwhile, various banks, credit card issuers, and payment institutions in the city have collaborated to launch a series of international credit card payment activities in the city's key commercial districts.
Joining hands with Huawei's Petal Payment and Huawei stores, Shenzhen also plans to carry out characteristic digital payment activities in Longgang District to allow more overseas visitors to experience the city's emerging and diverse mobile payment models and technologies.
A number of shopping malls in the city's key commercial districts have launched a series of promotional activities such as membership gifts, discounts, and exclusive gifts for overseas consumers.
In Guangming District, digital RMB consumption vouchers will be issued to tourists spending in major shopping complexes, high-quality hotels, industrial parks, and the cultural and arts center.
Bank of China has also distributed red envelopes for digital RMB consumption vouchers for cross-border travelers.
Since July 2023, visiting China has become a whole lot easier for international travelers. Starting July 21, 2023, visitors are able to link their Visa and Mastercard accounts to China's most popular mobile payment platforms, allowing them to book taxis, ride the subway and pay for goods and services at millions of outlets across the near-cashless country.
Alipay, China's largest payment app operated by Ant Group, announced July 21 that overseas users can link cards issued by Visa and Mastercard, as well as Diners Club and Discover to their digital wallets.
A day earlier, Tencent, which owns the country's second most popular payment app WeChat Pay, made a similar announcement.
WeChat users can now link 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.