Tencent announced it has launched collaboration deals with Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express and JCB to enable overseas cardholders to link their accounts to WeChat Pay for payment and services in China, in an emailed statement provided by the company.. 

The collaboration will allow overseas cardholders to use WeChat Pay to pay for hotel rooms, transportation, restaurants and shopping. For example, cardholders visiting China can use WeChat Pay for purchases with ride hailing service Didi, for tickets on China Railway 12306 or online purchases on CTrip or JD.com. 

Tencent said it plans to add additional payment scenarios in the future. 

Visa announced earlier this week that cardholders would gain access to the WeChat Pay platform by integrating their card numbers into the mobile wallet. 

China had 141.2 million visitors in 2018, according to its Ministry of Tourism records and more than 950,000 foreigners currently work in China. 

Cover image: WeChat Pay