Payment experience is smoother! Beijing's payment convenience level has been significantly improved
2024-08-08
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At the Capital International Airport and Daxing International Airport, the payment service centers next to the arrival exits are particularly eye-catching, allowing foreign personnel to learn about various payment methods and usage procedures at the first time; 10-yuan notes can be withdrawn using an ATM, and "change purses" have become standard equipment at major banks, allowing users who need change to "get them immediately"; whether in business districts or tourist attractions, the various payment experiences can be described as "silky smooth"... Since the beginning of this year, Beijing has continued to optimize payment services, and the more convenient payment scenarios have been praised by citizens and tourists.
A reporter recently learned from the Beijing Branch of the People's Bank of China that Beijing has focused on key places and key links, and the level of service convenience in bank card acceptance, cash use, foreign currency exchange, mobile payment, and account opening has been significantly improved. The payment bottlenecks in key scenarios have been accelerated, providing strong support for the accelerated recovery of inbound tourism.
Image source: IC photoTwo major airports solve payment problems for foreign guests
On February 5 this year,The payment service demonstration areas and payment service centers for overseas guests at the Capital International Airport and Daxing International Airport have been put into operation, which has enabled the airport to have an all-round, multi-channel and three-dimensional payment environment, and has immediately cleared various payment bottlenecks. Over the past six months, the payment environment for foreign visitors to Beijing has continued to improve, and the sense of access and satisfaction with payment services has been comprehensively improved.
"I lost my credit card in Korea, but I won't arrive in Beijing until the evening, so the bank will probably be closed long ago." A few days ago, Ivan from Kazakhstan found that his bank card was missing at the end of his last trip. He didn't have time to prepare cash before boarding the plane, and he was penniless and desperate. What he didn't expect was that he solved the payment problem without leaving the airport.
At 8:30 p.m., Ivan arrived at the international arrivals exit of Beijing Daxing Airport anxiously.“PAYMENT SERVICE CENTER”His eyes lit up. He walked to the information desk with the intention of giving it a try. The staff from the ICBC Service Pioneer Team quickly understood his predicament and assisted him in installing WeChat and Alipay and binding a Visa card.
Afterwards, Ivan successfully used mobile payment to buy a bottle of water at the airport convenience store, and excitedly returned to the information desk to express his gratitude to the staff. "China's payment system and enthusiastic bank service staff made me feel the first kindness from China, and I am looking forward to the journey in the next few days!" he said with emotion.
At the Capital International Airport, the Overseas Visitor Payment Service Center also provides consulting services to passengers coming to China. The staff of the Bank of China Beijing Branch enthusiastically answer questions about banking business, foreign card consumption, etc.Bank of China Guomen Branch on the fourth floor of Terminal 3Many foreign guests go straight here to open accounts, settle foreign exchange and other businesses. The self-service exchange machines at the outlets can accept 20 kinds of foreign currency cash for exchange into RMB, speeding up the time for a single transaction to 3 minutes.
Beijing took the lead in building an airport payment service demonstration zone and payment service center, achieving full coverage of external card acceptance at airport merchants and full coverage of small-denomination banknote withdrawals at ATMs, and achieving full coverage of 24-hour manual foreign currency exchange at international departures and arrivals, with more than 40 currencies convertible, providing diversified payment services and consulting guidance to foreign nationals coming to China at the first stop of entry.
Foreigners are not shy about paying
The reporter found that from subways to museums, from large shopping malls to specialty shops, multiple payment methods are supported, and the payment scenarios for foreign visitors to China are more diverse.
With the popularity of "China Travel", more and more foreign faces have appeared at the roast duck restaurant Jingmo Beijing Bistro on Gulou East Street.This store supports multiple payment methods including bank cards, QR code scanning, and cash, making it very convenient for foreign tourists to pay."Many young foreign tourists are very skilled at using Alipay to scan and pay." Store manager Wang Liang has found that coming to China to experience mobile payment is becoming a new fashion for many foreign tourists.
Walk InBlue Harbor, the country's first "inbound consumer-friendly business district"Many businesses have Alipay+ payment guides at their cash registers, and English signboards are placed in many places to guide foreign tourists on how to bind Visa international cards or overseas e-wallets for mobile payments. "Here, even small merchants selling pigeon food can use QR codes to do cross-border business!" said the person in charge of the business district.
In Beijing, it is more convenient for foreigners to use foreign cards and mobile payments. The relevant departments of the city have identified two batches of key merchants, about 18,000 households, based on the movement of people coming to China, and have made every effort to promote key merchants to add or upgrade foreign card POS machines. Through the concerted efforts of various departments, districts and the financial industry, the acceptance rate of major foreign card types in the two batches of key merchant lists has reached 98%, which is a rapid increase in the short term compared with the nearly 30% foreign card acceptance rate of the first batch of 11,000 key valid merchants at the end of February.
In terms of mobile payment, the People's Bank of China Beijing Branch guides banks to further increase and optimize the mobile payment transaction limits for foreign nationals coming to China. At the same time, it guides payment institutions and banks to continue to expand the number and scope of white-listed merchants. "Outsourcing for internal use" already supports the use of 15 overseas wallets in China.
100% of bank branches provide "coin purses"
In order to facilitate payments by people coming to China from abroad, the People's Bank of China has proposed a working plan of "large-amount card swiping, small-amount code scanning, and cash guarantee". Giving full play to the role of cash guarantee and continuously optimizing the cash circulation environment are important links.
It is understood thatThe People's Bank of China Beijing Branch organized more than 3,800 bank outlets in Beijing to provide "change purses" at 100%, and carried out door-to-door exchanges for merchants in a grid-based manner.All banks are also focusing on taxi scenarios, providing regular "change purse" exchange services at airports and train stations during peak periods, and pushing exchange reminders through taxi dispatch centers, Didi platforms, etc.
A set of data shows the report card of cash services in Beijing. In the second quarter, Beijing put about 510,000 change purses into use. As of July 28, the city has issued a total of 692,000 "change purses", an increase of 640,000 from the end of February; there are 11,500 ATMs in the city that can support foreign card withdrawals, an increase of more than 100 from the end of February; there are 1,978 ATMs that support small-denomination cash withdrawals, an increase of more than 1,900 from the end of February.
Foreigners working and living in Beijing also enjoy more convenient financial services.China Merchants Bank R&F City Branch,Many foreign customers do not know the business handling process and the materials required for business handling in advance. They are very confused when they come to the branch for the first time, and often return to the branch twice because they do not bring all the documents. The branch has produced a business guide for foreigners coming to China, a simple one-page paper, so that more foreign customers can come to the bank to handle business smoothly "once" and "through-the-way", avoiding multiple returns.
It is understood that the city took the lead in issuing the "Beijing Implementation Plan for Further Optimizing Payment Services and Improving Payment Convenience" at the provincial level. According to the "Implementation Plan", by the end of December, the city will basically solve the payment pain points and difficulties of groups such as the elderly and foreigners coming to Beijing; create a number of demonstration blocks with more complete facilities, clearer signs and more convenient services; further optimize the payment acceptance environment to better meet the diversified payment service needs, and consolidate and improve the payment service level.
A relevant person in charge of the People's Bank of China Beijing Branch said that in the next step, the city will promote the high-quality implementation of various tasks in the "Implementation Plan" to ensure that the diverse payment service needs of groups such as the elderly and foreigners coming to Beijing are better met.
