SHENZHEN, September 27, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Tencent has launched TenPayGo, a payment app aimed at overseas visitors to China, as spending by international travelers using foreign digital wallets and payment methods continues to rise.
The platform, unveiled Thursday at an international payment services event in Shenzhen, allows visitors to connect payment methods issued outside China and use the app to scan and pay, Tencent said.
TenPayGo supports bank cards issued overseas by seven major international card organizations, including Visa and Mastercard, as well as Apple Pay and overseas e-wallets such as Starryblu, the company said.
The service is designed to address one of the practical challenges facing foreign visitors in China: accessing everyday digital payments without relying on a domestic bank account or payment setup.
Users can link an eligible payment method to TenPayGo and then make payments by scanning a code, according to Tencent.
The app also extends beyond retail payments in Shenzhen. Overseas visitors can use it to activate a ride code for the city’s buses and metro system, without needing a Chinese phone number or a transit card, Tencent said.
The launch comes as China’s digital payment ecosystem seeks to accommodate a growing flow of international visitors. Tencent’s Weixin Pay, the payment service operated through its broader WeChat ecosystem in mainland China, has expanded services aimed at travelers from abroad.
Transaction data from Weixin Pay showed that during the first eight months of 2026, the value of transactions in China made through overseas e-wallets rose 80.6% from a year earlier, while the number of such transactions increased 81.8%.
Those figures point to a sharp increase in the use of foreign-linked digital wallets by visitors in China, although they do not by themselves indicate the total level of foreign visitor spending.
Tencent did not provide details in the announcement on the full range of merchants covered by TenPayGo or whether the service would be expanded beyond Shenzhen.
For international travelers, the new platform adds another route into China’s predominantly digital payments environment, combining overseas payment methods with the QR-code system widely used for everyday transactions in the country.