(Yicai) Dec. 11 -- Overseas visitors experience various difficulties in China, including booking tickets, making payments, and completing the complicated tax refund process, according to the findings of a survey by Economic Daily.

China’s tourism-related services are generally fine, the survey published yesterday showed, but overseas visitors complained about issues such as inconvenient foreign currency exchange. Their principal gripe was over payment problems. 

Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay, two popular mobile payment apps, announced in July that overseas users could link their cards to them. But most foreign tourists have not chosen to download the apps due to concerns over identity theft or other problems.

For instance, Alipay and WeChat Pay require users to verify their real names when linking their bank cards, but some overseas users are unwilling to provide such personal details.

Third-party apps also have payment limits under Chinese regulations, said Liu Xiangdong, chief analyst at Eastern Spring Capital. The one-time payment ceiling for overseas bank cards linked to the two apps ranges from CNY3,000 to CNY6,500 (USD418 to USD905), which rules out certain purchases. 

“The friendliness of the payment environment directly impacts the recovery of the inbound tourism market,” Liu pointed out.

China should make card payments more convenient for tourists by popularizing the use of point-of-sales machines that accept overseas cards, Liu said. He also recommends promoting overseas payments using plastic issued by debit card provider China UnionPay. 

To make the tax refund process more convenient for overseas tourists, places such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhejiang province have launched a pilot scheme to refund taxes at the same time as purchase are made. Qualified tourists can get on-site refunds by filling in the necessary forms when shopping at stores in the scheme.

Editor: Tom Litting