Access of WeChat Pay - A Convenient Measure for Chinese Tourists

In recent years, in China, people using smartphones almost all use WeChat Pay. People can go without a bank card or cash, they just need to take their mobile phones, because via Quick Pay, QR Code, In-App Web-Based, or Native In-App Payments, the WeChat Pay can handle almost all of their needs: shopping, eating in the restaurants, purchasing a movie ticket, transfering money to family or friends, ordering and paying for a cab, buying a train or bus or flight ticket, etc..

(Photo source: https://pay.weixin.qq.com/wechatpay_guide/intro_method.shtml)

Two months ago, a French guy's video was hot on the Internet. The boy “cried out” that France was behind in the payment field. The locals always used cash and bank cards. Only when they went to Starbucks could they use Apple Pay. And he hoped that Ma Huateng (Tencent CEO) could introduce WeChat technology to France and received a response from Ma Huateng a few days ago.

(Photo source: WeChat ID: DailyFR)

Ma Huateng said that China Mobile’s overseas development has also encountered practical difficulties because it is required to apply for a third-party payment license locally. This license is difficult to apply and the application process is slow. Moreover, even if they obtain this license, they must also carry out technological transformation with some local banks in order to achieve interconnection, for example, local banks need to provide an interface to WeChat payment, otherwise many progress cannot be further promoted.

WeChat Pay arrived in Paris

In fact, thanks to the cooperation between Tencent and BNP Paribas, since November 2017, Chinese tourists can use WeChat Pay service to pay their purchases at Galeries Lafayette and at the Town Hall Bazaar. At about the same time, the National Center of National Museums gave the Chinese the opportunity to buy tickets on the same payment system. Eight monuments are concerned: the Arc de Triomphe, the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Pantheon in Paris, and also, in the province, the Mont Saint-Michel, the castle of Azay-le-Rideau, the city of Carcassonne and the castle of If. This partnership caters to the 7.4 million Chinese tourist visit Europe annually.

WeChat Pay against insecurity

France is, in Europe, a destination of choice for the Chinese; they always seduced by what they consider the "romantic" character of the French. However, the personal and property safety of Chinese tourists has always been a topic of concern. As we all know, the pickpockets in Paris always love Chinese tourists, because Chinese who travel abroad prefer to buy luxury goods, and they like to carry large amounts of cash with them. More than this, there were also serious racist incidents against the Chinese.

Beyond the police surveillance, which must obviously be strengthened, is a means used in France to give Chinese tourists greater confidence: to make them less and less need to take care of cash to pay for purchases and miscellaneous expenses.

Today, only 10% of Chinese have a passport, which means that China outbound tourism has a huge potential. An access of WeChat Pay is very convenient for Chinese tourists. A city, where they can use the payment system that they are familiar with, is definitely more attractive. And it is not only for the tourists, but also for Chinese students who study abroad. As Chinese students in France, we hope that more and more cities and countries could do their best to take such kind of measures.

(Video mentioned in the second paragraph:)

Sources:

法国小哥吐槽无法使用微信获马化腾神回应

Wechat Pay arrive en France

Seuls 10 % des Chinois ont un passeport, mais tous considèrent la France comme “romantique”.

By Xiaoqing & Wenhong