(Yicai) Sept. 25 -- China has made the digital yuan payment service safer and more convenient for foreigners by adding a new function allowing them to top-up the money in their e-yuan wallets before making payments. 

The new feature, launched in the e-yuan app on Sept. 22, enables foreigners in China to use their overseas SIM cards to register and open an e-yuan wallet and recharge it with their Visa or Mastercard cards or top it up with cash at bank branches before making a payment.

Previously, they could top-up only when making transactions. Any remaining balance can be transferred back to the bank card. 

China has opened up access to the e-yuan for foreigners since the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. The new function makes online payments more convenient for people from abroad, the same as they are for locals.

The payment process has also been shortened and simplified, enhancing payment efficiency and removing the wait for foreign card verification at stores.

In addition to using the e-yuan app, foreigners can also apply for digital yuan hard wallets for daily payments. The service can be used at offline stores with e-yuan acceptable signs and online platforms, including ride-hailing giant Didi, online services provider Meituan, online travel agencies Ctrip and Qunar, and e-commerce behemoth JD.Com.

China's Zhejiang province has 1.3 million offline shops and over 1 million online merchants that accept e-yuan payments, according to data from the local branch of China's central bank. The 19th Asian Games kicked off in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang, on Sept. 23. Some 12,000 athletes from 45 nations and regions are taking part in games covered by more than 11,000 overseas reporters and watched by many thousands of visitors from abroad.

Editor: Martin Kadiev