Shanghai expands foreign card acceptance to enhance tourist experience

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As a popular first stop for overseas visitors to China, Shanghai is enhancing the consumer experience for tourists using foreign bank cards with its evolving digital payment systems.

Official data from the municipal government showed that, since late 2023, Shanghai has opened more than 37,000 foreign card point-of-sale (POS) terminals throughout the city. 

International visitors who are short on time to withdraw cash or unfamiliar with China's digital payment systems have welcomed the expansion.

"We normally do the payment by cash only, but in case if you needed to do with credit card, we can do that," said an international visitor.

"Normal credit card, no problem. I think it is improving, yes." said another visitor.

A bank officer said that the acceptance of foreign cards will be further extended to small-denomination payment scenes in the metropolis.

"We have installed POS machines accepting foreign bank cards in 12 commerce sites and those major tourist attractions and hotels in the city. And we will continue to promote the coverage of those machines. Also, we will ensure major merchants in the city have enough small bills and increase the number of small bill withdrawal or exchange outlets in the city. There will be more small denominations available in the market," said Mao Jiansong, senior deputy manager of Operation and Channel Management Department under Bank of Communications' Shanghai Branch.

Some Shanghai taxis now accept foreign bank cards for fare payment, making the city a pioneer on the Chinese mainland for this convenient option. All these taxis will also provide a travel guide printed in English and Japanese, helping those who do not understand Chinese to communicate with drivers.

For visitors seeking a convenient all-in-one payment solution, the city has introduced the 'Shanghai Pass'. With a maximum balance of 1,000 yuan, this one-stop tourism pass can be used for public transportation and across tourism venues and shopping malls. 

It requires no registration and any remaining balance can be refunded upon departure at designated locations throughout the city."

According to Sun Yao, general manager of Shanghai City Tour Card Development Co., the Shanghai Pass is designed to make small payments easier.

"It is designed to make small payments easier. After topping the card, you can pay for things without getting charged from stores. And there are QR codes on the front and back of the card. Cardholders can scan the codes to learn more about how to use it, as well as getting other useful information from the Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism," said Sun.

According to the Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai received 1.27 million tourists in the first quarter of this year, up 250 percent year-on-year, and is expected to receive about 5 million inbound tourists for the whole year. 

Shanghai expands foreign card acceptance to enhance tourist experience

China's new tax policies came into effect on Sunday, which are expected to support the steady and healthy development of the real estate market, a pillar industry of the country's national economy.

In mid November, the Ministry of Finance said the country will increase incentives in terms of deed tax to actively support people's essential housing needs and needs for improving their housing conditions.

Individuals purchasing their only residential property or a second home, as long as the area does not exceed 140 square meters, will pay deed tax at a rate of one percent across the country. For properties with an area exceeding 140 square meters, the deed tax will be levied at a rate of 1.5 percent.

Home buyers planning to buy second homes in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen will benefit the most from the revised deed tax, as a previous rate of three percent had been applied to all four of these first-tier cities, according to officials.

On the morning of Monday, the first working day after the new policies came into force, a tax service hall in downtown Beijing was bustling with homebuyers, accompanied by real estate agents, who seek to pay tax and register their homes.

"This is the second house my family bought. It is about 100-square-meters big at a price of more than eight million yuan (about 1.1 million U.S. dollars). Following the new policy, I paid a deed tax of 80,000 yuan, saving 160,000 yuan compared with the previous policy," said a homebuyer.

"Today is the first working day after the new policy came into force. We and our clients made appointments on this day to handle tax payment and transfer of (house) ownership to enjoy the benefits of the new tax policies as soon as possible," said Sun Licheng, a real estate agent.

"Today, both taxpayers making online applications (for real estate's tax payment and transfer of ownership) and those doing business offline are apparently more than usual. We have not only added three service counters to our tax hall, but also increased staff for offline and online application review," said Chen Zhan, director of the sixth taxation office at the Beijing Haidian District Taxation Bureau under the State Taxation Administration. The Beijing municipal taxation bureau expects the new tax policies to strengthen the property market's recovery momentum, and promote the stable and healthy development of the sector.

Data show that in November, 18,520 pre-owned houses were signed online in Beijing, marking a month-on-month increase of eight percent and a year-on-year growth of 50 percent.

New tax policies in place, property market recovers