Tencent and Visa Expand Cross-Border Payment Services in China

Tencent and Visa have announced an expansion of their collaboration focused on cross-border payments and artificial intelligence-driven commerce, aiming to strengthen their presence in China’s growing payments ecosystem. This development comes shortly after both companies received regulatory approval to broaden their operations within China, the world's second-largest economy.

The two firms signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore new payment methods that simplify transactions for travelers entering or leaving China. Their plan includes enhancing cross-border money transfers and enabling payments at merchants using Tencent’s Weixin Pay alongside Visa’s extensive network, subject to compliance with Chinese regulations.

Part of this expanded partnership involves Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time money transfer service. This will facilitate overseas users in sending funds directly into the Weixin Pay system, improving convenience for international customers engaging with Chinese merchants.

Additionally, Tencent and Visa intend to collaborate on agentic commerce, an emerging online shopping trend where AI-powered agents assist consumers in finding, selecting, and purchasing products or services. This initiative leverages Tencent’s AI capabilities combined with Visa’s global payment infrastructure to create streamlined commerce experiences for users.

Dowson Tong, Senior Executive Vice President at Tencent and CEO of its Cloud and Smart Industries Group, emphasized the partnership’s potential benefits. He stated, "We hope to create more seamless commerce experiences for consumers and new opportunities for businesses, both in China and internationally." This reflects a mutual ambition to enhance payment technologies and expand cross-border financial services.

The announcement follows a recent milestone for Visa, which received approval from the People’s Bank of China to prepare for launching a domestic bank card clearing service. This marks a significant step toward Visa entering China’s domestic payments market after more than 40 years of limited access.

Tencent and Visa’s cooperation dates back to at least 2019, when Visa first announced that international Visa cardholders could use their cards through WeChat Pay while in China. This earlier collaboration laid the groundwork for the current expanded partnership.

In parallel, Tencent has actively formed partnerships with other global payment providers. Notably, in December last year, Tencent’s international payments platform Midas teamed up with Mastercard to integrate Mastercard’s Click to Pay and advanced payment security features. This collaboration aims to speed up and secure online transactions for users making payments abroad.

Meanwhile, financial institutions like Citigroup have also gained traction in China’s market. Last week, Citi received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to establish a wholly owned securities firm, Citigroup Securities (China), based in Shanghai. This entity will provide services such as equity brokerage, securities underwriting, research, and principal trading to both domestic and international clients. Citi plans to finalize remaining regulatory steps before commencing operations.

These approvals align with Beijing’s gradual opening of its financial sector to foreign companies. According to previous CNBC reports, U.S. officials have pressed China for greater market access for firms such as Mastercard, Visa, and Citigroup during bilateral meetings. A U.S. Treasury official noted that these regulatory approvals were linked to an agreement reached between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in Washington the previous month.

The deepening collaboration between Tencent and Visa highlights ongoing shifts in China’s financial services environment. As the country continues to welcome foreign participation, global payment providers and technology companies are positioning themselves to capitalize on increasing demand for innovative, cross-border payment solutions and AI-driven commerce.