(Yicai) May 29 -- International expansion is the top priority for YeePay, one of China's earliest licensed payment firms, as the burgeoning cross-border payments sector offers a major growth opportunity, according to one of the firm’s co-founders.

“Internationalization is one of our high-growth areas and is our most important strategic focus,” Yu Chen said in a recent interview with Yicai at the 2025 ITB CHINA Shanghai International Travel Exhibition.

Founded in 2003, the Beijing-based provider of digital payments and enterprise financial solutions witnessed the issuance of China's first batch of 27 third-party payment licenses.As geopolitical tensions reshape global supply chains, this industry veteran is now seeking new growth drivers in the cross-border business.

YeePay processes CNY3 trillion (USD400 billion) of transactions a year through a global payment network spanning seven key sectors, including airlines and travel, cross-border trade,entertainment and retail. Cross-border business accounts for about 10 percent, exceeding USD30 billion annually across more than 130 countries and regions, with real-time exchange support for over 60 currencies.

China's Cross-border Interbank Payment System processed CNY175 trillion (USD24.1 trillion) of transaction last year, a 43 percent year-on-year increase. Chinese payment providers have stepped up their overseas expansion in recent years, driven partly by fierce competition at home and partly by burgeoning cross-border travel and trade, coupled with increasingly favorable policy support, according to Su Xiaorui, a senior researcher at Suxi Intelligence Research.

From Pilot to Breakout

YeePay’s cross-border trajectory has closely followed China’s regulatory path. In 2013, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange launched pilot programs for third-party payment firms to join, during which YeePay executed the first nationwide cross-border remittance -- an overseas tuition payment.

In 2019, the company secured China’s first cross-border payment license, laying the compliance groundwork for subsequent rapid expansion. Then the real breakthrough came in 2020.

“During the first six months after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, China's relatively effective control of the outbreak coincided with factory shutdowns overseas, driving explosive growth in Chinese exports and cross-border e-commerce,” Yu recalled.

This took YeePay's cross-border operations from being experimental ventures into being strategic cornerstones.

Key Challenges and Solutions

Yu identified three main challenges in cross-border payments: divergent regulatory requirements across jurisdictions; partnerships with overseas banks and payment service providers; and exchange-rate risk management. Moreover, cross-border payments are highly segmented into aviation and travel, education, e-commerce, and other sectors, each with distinct needs.

To address these challenges, YeePay launched a one-stop global cross-border payment network last year, offering foreign exchange hedging products that enable 24/7 long-term currency locking for both short- and long-term risk management. For minor currency markets such as Southeast Asia, the firm introduced tailored foreign-exchange offerings.

In cross-border e-commerce, Chinese sellers on those platforms must convert US dollar revenues into Chinese yuan through compliant channels, precisely the area where specialized providers like YeePay play a critical role.

New Growth

The post-pandemic rebound in aviation and tourism has opened up fresh avenues for cross-border payments. Chinese airlines are expanding international routes, and foreign carriers and travel agencies are rethinking their approaches to China.

YeePay now offers business-to-business, business-to-trade, and new distribution capability solutions to airlines, online travel agencies, and tour operators, helping global travel integrators such as Voyzant slash operating costs by more than 20 percent.

“While outsiders may view [YeePay and other payment service providers] as competitors, we see them as partners," Yu stated, a testament to the payment ecosystem's complexity and the need for specialized collaboration.

“The payment chain is extremely long, and everyone excels in different areas,” he said. “When it comes to China's last-mile cross-border capabilities, we have clear advantages over international competitors.”

Opportunity Amid Disruption

Despite mounting geopolitical tensions and the de-globalization trend, Yu remains bullish on the prospects for cross-border payments.

“Over the next five to 10 years, while there are many new challenges, these crises represent opportunities,” he pointed out. “The reorganization and realignment of supply chains creates many new prospects for cross-border payments.”

Trade disputes and tariff policy have unexpectedly created opportunities for the re-export trade, with Southeast Asia and the Middle East emerging as vital bridges between China and other markets, and the United States and European Union remaining key markets. Yu said. 

“I led a team to the Middle East last month,” he said. “Places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are thriving, with many Chinese companies relocating there. Dubai not only has the Dragon City commercial wholesale market, but has recently opened the Yiwu Commercial City, replicating the Yiwu wholesale model in the Middle East and greatly shortening trade chains.”

YeePay is applying for permits in multiple global markets, including Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Fellow third-party payment companies including LianLian Digital, PingPong, and XTransfer have also secured payment licenses in countries and regions such as Indonesia and the United States.

"The cross-border payment industry may increasingly exhibit a 'winner-takes-all' characteristic in the future, with leading companies maintaining their advantageous positions through their customer base, payment networks, and vertical business integration capabilities,” Suxi Intelligence Research’s Su said.

But niche segments such as cross-border B2B payments still offer considerable commercial potential for small and mid-sized payment service providers, she added.

AI and Digital Evolution

Arificial intelligence technologies are increasingly being adopted across the financial sector, from risk management and fraud detection to customer service and regulatory compliance.

Lenders such as Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and WeBank, the country’s first digital bank, have announced integrations with DeepSeek’s AI model for their service offerings, though such moves have also sparked heightened concerns around data security and privacy breaches.

As the head of a tech-driven company, Yu noted that the payments industry has long been a heavy user of AI. “Payment firms have always employed AI, but until now we relied more on discriminative AI rather than the generative AI that’s popular today.”

YeePay divides its AI applications into two categories: bottom line vs top line. Bottom line applications center on risk control, covering fraud detection, anti–money laundering, and know-your-customer processes, which have matured greatly over the past decade. Top line applications aim to drive client acquisition and improve service experience, such as intelligent chatbots, where generative AI hows greater promise.

In response to new, AI-driven fraud tactics, Yu Chen said YeePay primarily uses back-end transaction-pattern analysis for risk management.

Looking ahead, he reiterated YeePay’s development strategy in three words: "digitization, intelligentization, and internationalization.” 

“Since its inception, YeePay has positioned itself as an enabler of digital transformation for the real economy, traditional industries, and real-world business scenarios,” Yu said. “We will continue to deepen that mission and drive digital progress across more sectors.”

Editor: Tom Litting