PayPal lets US travellers pay QR merchants in China

PayPal has enabled US users to make in-store QR code payments at Weixin Pay merchants across China through its PayPal app. The service is available nationwide from launch.

The move lets US travellers pay at participating merchants in China without downloading another app, opening a local digital wallet or setting up a Chinese bank account. Users can scan a merchant QR code or, where supported, present a PayPal QR code in the app for the merchant to scan.

China has built one of the world's largest QR-based consumer payment markets, with the format widely used in shops, restaurants, convenience stores and tourist venues. For many overseas visitors, accessing those systems has often required local payment tools or workarounds that differ from the methods they use at home.

The arrangement links PayPal World, PayPal's cross-border wallet network, with TenPay Global, Tencent's cross-border payment platform. Through that connection, US PayPal users can access the Weixin Pay merchant network in mainland China through their existing PayPal app.

International travel to China has been recovering. PayPal cited World Travel & Tourism Council data showing the country received more than 68 million international visitors in 2025, up 15.5% from a year earlier. That trend has increased the commercial appeal of payment products aimed at tourists navigating unfamiliar retail systems.

Travel payments

Cross-border consumer payments have become a more competitive area for global finance and technology groups as travel rebounds and digital wallets look for ways to remain useful outside their home markets. Rather than asking travellers to adopt a new payment product in every country, wallet providers have increasingly pursued interoperability deals that let users pay abroad with the apps they already use.

In China, the issue is especially significant because QR code payments are deeply embedded in daily commerce. Visitors who rely mainly on international cards can face a gap between what is technically accepted and what is most commonly used at smaller merchants and service points.

The new service is intended to remove that friction for US travellers. PayPal advises users to update the app, ensure they have sufficient funds in their PayPal balance account, set up auto-reload if needed and enable location services before travelling.

Alexander Bellabarba, Senior Vice President of Global Product Solutions at PayPal, said the initiative is designed to reduce payment complexity during overseas trips.

"Travel should be about experiencing a new destination, not figuring out how to pay," Bellabarba said.

"As more people travel internationally, they expect payment experiences to be as seamless abroad as they are at home. PayPal World gives users a simple, familiar way to pay overseas using the PayPal app they already have. It's another step toward making cross-border payments as convenient and intuitive as paying at home," he added.

Network strategy

The launch also highlights PayPal's effort to position PayPal World as a framework linking large wallet ecosystems across borders. The network is described as a common structure for connecting wallets and platforms, rather than a standalone consumer app.

For Tencent's payments business, the arrangement opens the Weixin Pay merchant base to another pool of international users. That could matter in sectors such as tourism, hospitality and urban retail, where inbound travellers are more likely to seek familiar payment tools.

Wenhui Yang, Chief Executive Officer of TenPay Global Singapore, said the partnership reflects a broader push towards payment system interoperability.

"TenPay Global is committed to working with PayPal World to build a more open and inclusive global payment network together. We believe the next phase of borderless payments will be driven by greater interoperability and deeper ecosystem collaboration," Yang said.

"We will work with PayPal World to further connect more international digital wallets with the Weixin Pay merchant network. Through our collaboration, international visitors will be able to use their home wallets to make QR code payments at tens of millions of Weixin Pay merchants in mainland China, offering them a familiar and convenient way to pay," he added.