In preparation for the 33rd APEC Leaders’ Informal Meeting to be held in Shenzhen in November 2026, Shenzhen officially implemented the “Ten Measures for Optimizing International Payment Services in the Qianhai Cooperation Zone” on June 19 to comprehensively upgrade its international payment service capabilities. The core goal is to make every purchase made by overseas visitors in Shenzhen as smooth as in their hometown.
The payment infrastructure prepared by Shenzhen for APEC is not a temporary construction. A unified cross-border QR code gateway will be launched locally in 2025, which solves the industry pain points of different overseas wallet standards and multi-party docking. The Qianhai payment ten items introduced this time are to transform the early pilot experience into a policy framework that can be replicated and promoted. The policy is valid for one year and covers the entire chain of links such as upgrading the payment environment in business districts, optimizing foreign currency exchange services, expanding mobile payment scenarios, and promoting payment facilitation.
In response to the differences between the payment habits of overseas users and the domestic QR code payment environment, Shenzhen has launched two parallel solutions: The first is “foreign card binding”. Overseas users only need to bind their own overseas bank cards such as Visa and Mastercard to commonly used domestic payment apps such as WeChat and Alipay, and they can scan QR codes to pay like domestic users. Data shows that in May 2026, the usage rate of “foreign card binding” and “outsourced internal use” payment by foreigners in China increased by 70% year-on-year.
The second is “outsourced internal use” with a lower threshold. Overseas tourists do not need to download any local Chinese payment APPs. They can directly open the commonly used local wallets such as PayPal, Vietnam MOMO, Laos BCEL on their mobile phones, scan the merchant’s WeChat payment code, and the system will automatically display the real-time exchange rate and the corresponding local currency amount, and the payment can be completed directly.
At present, Shenzhen’s payment network has access to 36 overseas e-wallets. WeChat Pay can support more than 40 overseas wallets in 13 countries and regions. There is no need for merchants to invest additional money. The originally posted payment QR code has automatically been able to accept more than 40 overseas wallets around the world.
With the ability of wallets to pay, even street fried noodle stalls and mobile stalls can accept the payment needs of overseas consumers at zero cost. Currently, there are about 7,000 foreign merchants active in Huaqiangbei Electronics Market every day. The convenient payment environment has greatly reduced the communication costs of cross-border transactions.
This new policy has had a significant impact on three types of groups: For small and micro merchants on the street, they can access the global payment network at zero cost without modifying existing equipment. In the past, small and micro merchants could not afford expensive foreign card POS machines, and it was difficult to prepare enough foreign currency cash to make change, which was a difficulty in covering inbound payment services. Now a common payment QR code solves all problems. At present, there are 20 “international friendly merchants” in Shixia Times Square, Futian District, equipped with bilingual payment guidelines and opening foreign currency payment services.
For overseas tourists, the full-link payment needs from entry to consumption are systematically covered. Futian Port has set up 5 “Huitong” currency exchange points, which can be exchanged for 25 currencies, covering all 21 APEC member countries. The port entry service center also has dedicated personnel to provide one-on-one guidance on opening a digital RMB hard wallet. The daily recharge limit is 2,000 yuan. When leaving the country, the balance can be returned to overseas bank cards along the way. Key places in Qianhai have achieved full coverage of currency exchange services within 500 meters.
For business district operators, the policy is accompanied by real money incentives. Operators who are rated as “Shenzhen Convenient Payment Business District” can receive a one-time reward of 300,000 yuan. Organizations building smart payment scenarios in Qianhai can apply for subsidy support of up to 1 million yuan based on 50% of the actual investment cost.
Relevant groups can also make corresponding preparations in advance: Merchants operating in Shenzhen can confirm whether their payment codes have been connected to the cross-border payment network. At present, the “outsourced internal use” function of WeChat payment has covered tens of millions of merchants. If the WeChat payment code is used, it is basically capable of accepting overseas wallet payments. After confirmation, the corresponding payment acceptance logo can be posted in a prominent location in the store to facilitate identification by overseas consumers.
Operators operating in core business districts such as Qianhai and Futian can pay attention to the application channel of the “Convenient Payment Business District”. After successful application, not only will they receive a reward of 300,000 yuan, but the business district will also establish a “service specialist + emergency response” mechanism to provide overseas personnel with payment consultation, cash change and other comprehensive services.
Overseas personnel who plan to visit Shenzhen during APEC can learn in advance how to use the digital RMB hard wallet. They can activate it instantly with an overseas mobile phone number at entry points such as Futian Port. It can be used for small-amount high-frequency consumption such as catering and transportation. The balance can be automatically returned to the bound overseas bank card when leaving the country.
Relevant data from Overseas Chinese Bank shows that one-fifth of its overseas “scan QR code payment” transactions occurred in China last year, and its smooth payment experience has been verified by real transaction data.
