Beijing took the lead in launching the construction of the payment service demonstration zones at its airports. The city is now fully pushing forward the optimization of its payment services and improving the quality and efficiency of payment services for foreigners, with fruitful results yielded.

Sufficient Foreign Currency Exchange Outlets at Two Major Airports

Recently, Beijing Capital International Airport has added signage for airport payment service center in its arrival hall, and both Capital and Daxing airports have put in place more kiosks for currency exchange, small-denomination cash exchange, and facilities selling transportation cards (Yikatong).

Currently, the two major airports have a total of five bank branches, seven outlets of licensed foreign currency exchange agencies for individuals, four foreign currency self-service exchange machines, and 24 ATMs. These have brought multiple positive results. First, all the merchants in the two airports now accept overseas bank cards; second, small-denomination cash can be withdrawn from all the ATMs there; and, additionally, foreign currency exchange outlets can be found in both the international departure and arrival areas of the two airports, with the capability to exchange over 40 types of currencies.

Since their launch on February 5 and up until April 21, the airport payment service centers have provided services to 6,050 overseas guests; the payment service demonstration zones have processed a total of 203,000 transactions using overseas bank cards, amounting to CNY 58.907 million; and, additionally, 37,000 transactions for foreign currency exchange and cash withdrawals with overseas bank cards have been completed, totaling CNY 46.268 million.

Continuous Optimization of Payment Environment in Key Scenarios

At Shangri-La Hotel Beijing, multiple bilingual signs have been placed on the reception desk, indicating "Cash Payment Supported" and "Currency Exchange", as well as the signs showing the information that various overseas bank cards can be used for payments, and how to use mobile payment methods. The cashier desk is fully stocked with changes provided by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. Most guests use bank cards or cash, while some guests also pay via QR codes.

The Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China, in collaboration with relevant authorities, has identified approximately 11,000 key merchants based on the eight major categories including "Dining", "Accommodation", "Transport", "Tourism", "Shopping", "Entertainment", "Medical Services" and "Education". The branch is facilitating the collaboration between merchants and acquiring institutions, ensuring comprehensive optimization in areas such as bank card acceptance, cash services, foreign currency exchange, mobile payments, and account services.

In terms of bank card acceptance, relevant authorities in the city are making concerted efforts to promote the addition or upgrade of overseas bank card POS machines at key merchants. Among the list of the first batch of key merchants, the valid merchants' coverage rate of Visa, MasterCard and other types of overseas bank cards has achieved over 80 percent, indicating a rapid improvement in a short time. Regarding foreign currency exchange services, relevant authorities are supporting hotels in adding facilities for foreign currency exchange. Currently, there are 13 outlets of licensed foreign currency exchange agencies and 74 self-service currency exchange machines. In addition, there are 184 foreign currency exchange points that can provide services regularly.

100 Percent of Bank Branches Provide "Mini Wallet" Services

In recent days, the sign indicating "Cash Payment Accepted" can be easily found at the cash registers of most merchants in various places such as scenic spots, parks, and commercial areas in Beijing, as well as inside the taxis in the city.

In terms of cash services, the Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China has demanded more than 3,800 bank branches across the city to fully provide "Mini Wallet" services with changes, and set up exchange service points at the "Taxi Workers' Homes" at the two airports of Beijing. As of April 21, the city has distributed 235,000 standardized and diversified "Mini Wallets" containing changes, an increase of 182,000 from the end of February, and has launched a special initiative to distribute "Mini Wallets" to taxi drivers. Currently, there are 11,600 self-service devices in the city that support cash withdrawals using overseas bank cards, and 100 ATMs that support cash withdrawal.

"Large transactions via cards, small transactions via QR codes, and cash as a fallback." This is the solution proposed by the People's Bank of China to enhance the convenience of payment for foreign nationals in China. In terms of mobile payment, Beijing has taken the lead in the country in increasing the transaction limits for "overseas bank cards linked domestically" (which refers to the overseas bank cards linked to Alipay or WeChat Pay for domestic merchant transactions). The limit for transactions without the need to verify personal identity information has been raised to USD 2,000, while the maximum amount for a transaction after verifying identity information has been raised to USD 5,000, with the annual maximum amount increased to USD 50,000.

Next, Beijing will carry out the Implementation Plan of Beijing Municipality for Further Optimizing Payment Services and Enhancing Payment Convenience, to ensure that all tasks are completed with high quality, and to guarantee that the payment service needs of foreign nationals in Beijing are better met.

 (Source: Beijing Daily)