Global card linkage will help users, merchants
China DailyA recent decision by WeChat Pay and Alipay to fully open up their online payment services to international card organizations such as Mastercard, Visa, JCB and Discover Global Network will offer greater convenience to global users in mobile payments and enable millions of small merchants to tap overseas purchases, industry experts have said. "China's mobile payment has leapfrogged to become the dominant payment method in the country in recent years, while most people in foreign countries still adopt traditional payment methods like bank cards," said Zhao Xijun, a finance professor at the Renmin University of China in Beijing. "The shift toward enhancing mobile payment options for international users in China is a significant step forward," said Luigi Gambardella, president of ChinaEU, an international association promoting digital and high-tech cooperation between Europe and China. "The transformation not only benefits individual travelers and merchants, but also strengthens China's position as a world leader in the adoption of mobile payments and a major contributor to global advancement in fintech," Gambardella said.