Ant Group's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay each committed to China's Cross-border Interconnection Payment Gateway initiative on 17 September 2025, a move that allows foreign digital wallet holders to pay at merchants across China using a QR code without needing to open a local bank account or obtain a Chinese wallet. The gateway provides a standardised interface through which foreign wallets can route payments into the domestic merchant acceptance network.
The gateway pilot had been running since the end of July 2025, and by mid-September it had already facilitated nearly two million transactions totalling RMB 427 million. The commitment brings Alipay and WeChat Pay into the gateway scheme, which was launched by the People's Bank of China and the Payment and Clearing Association of China.
WALLET COVERAGE
Alipay said it supports seven major international bank card brands and 31 e-wallets from 12 countries and regions, allowing users of those applications to pay within its merchant network using existing credentials from their home market without any conversion of funds into a locally held account. WeChat Pay, which already supported 16 overseas partner wallets including Thailand's K PLUS, Malaysia's Boost and South Korea's NAVER Pay, said it would add more through the gateway.