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Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

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      China

      China

      Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

      2024-07-15 21:48 Last Updated At:23:17

      Shanghai has been taking the lead in attracting international travel, continuously promoting payment facilitations for foreign currencies as China further extends its visa-free policies.

      Official data showed that the number of foreign nationals entering China through ports in Shanghai in the first half of this year reached over 2.03 million, about 2.8 times that of the same period last year.

      At Shanghai's Pudong International Airport, a brand new one-stop service station catering to international travelers run by the Bank of China was opened recently. The site offers a wide range of services, including currency exchanges, free phone calls, and transport arrangements.

      The currency exchange machine at the service site only requires a passport with no additional fees and even offers small-denomination banknote exchanges.

      "We need to change 300 euros to yuan. It's very easy, with a passport it's very easy," said a foreign traveler.

      "That is to make it easier for them to make small payments, like buying a SIM card and taking a taxi," said Ouyang Xingyue, a staff member with the Bank of China Shanghai branch.

      At present, there are 88 such user-friendly exchange machines in the city. Meanwhile, the number of ATMs accepting foreign bank cards in the city exceeds 9,000, and most of them also allow withdrawing small amounts of cash, according to the Shanghai branch of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

      As of the end of June, Shanghai had over 70,000 foreign card point-of-sale terminals throughout the city, covering more than 50,000 merchants, according to the PBOC branch.

      The number of foreign currency exchange service facilities has increased significantly compared to the beginning of the year, ranking among the top in the country.

      This has excited many visitors, with over 1.9 million foreign card transactions made in the city during the first half of the year, totaling 3.5 billion yuan (about 481.83 million U.S. dollars), according to PBOC officials.

      "All these things that I bought here you see are for my mom, and I did use my credit card. Everything works well, you just have to have money in your bank account, that's all," said a foreign traveler.

      To encourage electronic payments, the central bank is working with payment giant Alipay to allow visitors to set up a local e-wallet that will allow mobile payments.

      "I already downloaded the app for online payments. I think it's quite easy," said a foreign traveler.

      "I'm going to pay everything with Alipay," said another.

      Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

      Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

      Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

      Shanghai takes lead in payment facilitation for foreign currencies

      An official with the World Economic Forum (WEF) has stressed the importance of establishing an adaptable mechanism for dialogue and cooperation that allows the global economy to fully benefit from the development potential of new technologies while managing the associated risks.

      Mirek Dusek, one of WEF's managing directors, was speaking on the sidelines of the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting, which commenced in Davos, Switzerland on Monday.

      The five-day event has gathered around 3,000 participants from various regions and industries around the world under the theme "Collaboration for the Intelligent Age," highlighting the need for greater collaboration against a backdrop of rapid technological advancements and global divisions.

      In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Tuesday, Dusek said WEF is monitoring "two big forces" they believe are changing the world economy.

      "On one hand, we are living through quite a unique time in terms of technological advancement and innovation. But on the other hand, of course, we are also tracking forces of fragmentation. We are seeing a more competitive geopolitical landscape, shifting value chains and supply chains, and of course, also social polarization in certain societies around the world," he said.

      With the current uncertainties in the world, Dusek stressed the importance of building a suitable platform for dialogue, and ensuring that such a mechanisms is adaptable to respond to the various challenges.

      "Given the trends that we are seeing in the global economy, in international relations, that function of bridging and dialogue could not be more important. It's very important that we have mechanisms where we can have dialogue and cooperation, and of course,  we also need to be on the front foot of thinking, 'Okay, how do we make sure that the collaborative mechanisms are fit for the 21st century?'" he said, adding that this will be one of the focuses of the current Davos meeting.

       Dusek also emphasized China's vital role in promoting global economic growth and technological development, describing the country as a "key actor" in helping the world transition to a new era of tech-driven development.

      "Everyone understands that we need to be on our front foot, really thinking creatively around how do we relaunch growth that is inclusive, sustainable. But how do we relaunch growth in this new situation for the world economy? And China plays a very important role in that endeavor, on development, on trade, of course, as well. On technology, I mentioned the theme, 'The Intelligent Age'. What we are trying to communicate with that is that there is a huge opportunity around some of these technologies. What is quite special is that it's not only one technology, but we are seeing, at this moment, whole sets of technologies that are going to market and exponentially changing industry and economy. If we have this huge opportunity around these technologies, how do we design [not only] our dialogue mechanisms, but also our collaborative mechanisms to be able to harness these technologies for the benefit of the world economy while taking care of the risks," he said.

      WEF official calls for mechanisms to foster dialogue in new tech era, boost world economy

      WEF official calls for mechanisms to foster dialogue in new tech era, boost world economy

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