(Yicai) Dec. 29 -- Chinese regulators are taking steps to help solve payment difficulties overseas visitors may have at some local businesses, according to an official at the People's Bank of China.

Some foreign tourists encounter issues when trying to pay, mainly because they are used to paying with bank cards or cash, whereas mobile payments are common in China, PBOC Deputy Governor Zhang Qingsong said at a press briefing yesterday.

The central bank is working with the commerce and tourism ministries to enable merchants to take cards issued by banks outside of the Chinese mainland in business districts and at airports, railroad stations, and other places frequently visited by inbound travelers.

The central bank has also been guiding major payment platforms such as Ant Group's Alipay, Tencent Holdings's TenPay, and China UnionPay to launch various services and products, Zhang added. At the same time, it has been working on the digital yuan so visitors can make small purchases using mobile payment tools widely accepted by local businesses, such as scanning QR codes, he noted.

Furthermore, the PBOC is pushing for more automatic teller machines to support cash withdrawals with offshore cards to help tourists when the other two methods are unavailable or they prefer not to use them, Zhang said.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev