Shenzhen is transforming into a model city for seamless cross-border payments, significantly boosting inbound tourism spending. According to the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch, the city's convenient payment services facilitated a remarkable 189 million transactions worth 26.4 billion yuan by international visitors in 2025, representing a year-on-year growth of approximately 30 percent in both volume and value.
At Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, dedicated payment service centers for international visitors offer new arrivals like Spanish tourist Maria immediate assistance. "Staff showed me how to set up mobile payment in minutes. In Spain, we rely on cash or cards, but here, one phone handles everything!" she exclaimed.
These integrated centers at key entry points provide multilingual support for payments, tourism, telecoms, and transport, handling over 23,000 inquiries and 3,300 transactions in 2025. Additionally, self-service foreign exchange machines, international ATMs, and digital yuan kiosks offering "2-minute quick applications" ensure a smooth financial onboarding process.
The convenience extends throughout the city. Bat, a tech enthusiast from Mongolia, was amazed during his visit to the High-Tech Fair. "My home e-wallet worked directly here. No app switching needed; it felt just like shopping back home," he said. Shenzhen leads in initiatives like "using overseas wallets domestically," "linking international cards to local apps," and providing "pocket money wallets for visitors." By 2025, the city deployed over 52,000 international card-friendly POS terminals, processing 1.76 million transactions totaling 3.74 billion yuan.
The experience concludes with unprecedented ease at departure. Lucy, a French tourist, completed a tax refund at a Qianhai duty-free shop simply by tapping her phone. "The refund arrived in under a minute. China's payment system is the best souvenir," she remarked. Shenzhen, a pioneer in tax refunds for overseas shoppers, has introduced the fastest and most diverse refund channels nationwide.
In 2025, it launched third-party refund services via Alipay and WeChat, enabling "instant refunds upon purchase." A dedicated mini-program allows tourists to submit refund applications online with one click. These efforts have fueled growth: in the first 11 months of 2025, tax-refund transactions surged 13-fold, with sales from "instant refund" items soaring nearly 40 times.
By integrating services across the entire visitor journey, from education upon arrival to instant refunds at departure, Shenzhen is unlocking the spending potential of international tourists, injecting fresh vitality into its consumer market and setting a benchmark for payment convenience globally.
Author | Jiang Chang
Photo | Shenzhen Fabu, Shenzhen Municipal Commerce Bureau, Xinhua
Editor | Wei Shen, James Campion, Shen He
