PBC Data Shows Foreigners Had Improved Mobile Payment Experiences During the Spring Festival
Data from the People’s Bank of China has revealed that the travel environment in China was smoother and much more convenient for foreigners during the just-concluded Spring Festival thanks to improved mobile payment services. The data shows a significant surge in transaction volumes by international travelers during the 2025 Chinese New Year compared to the 2024 holiday.
There was a notable increase in foreign visitors as well as payment transactions in the 2025 Spring Festival compared to the previous year’s festival, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, with inbound arrivals seeing a 150% year-over-year increase. According to the People’s Bank of China, the volume of cross-border transactions processed by NetsUnion Clearing Corporation and China UnionPay from January 28th to February 4th grew by 124.54% while total transaction values increased by 90.49%.
This represents a massive jump in mobile money transactions among international travelers in China in just one year. The Chinese Spring Festival is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, attracting a multitude of international tourists and regularly generating tens of billions of dollars annually.
With millions of foreign travelers heading into China during the event, mobile money services have become increasingly integral to providing these travelers with smooth payment experiences, whether they are taking public transportation, paying for a hotel, or buying a souvenir.
China’s remarkable progress in the mobile payment space has also made the East Asian nation a popular destination for foreign travelers who are assured of smooth and seamless payment services. In many cases, mobile payment platforms in China enable foreigners to link their bank accounts to their mobile payment accounts, allowing for incredibly convenient payment systems.
Local mobile payment applications coupled with international credit cards made it possible for foreign tourists to engage in activities such as sightseeing, dining, and shopping, immersing them fully into the cultural experiences most associated with the Chinese Spring Festival.
Carla Uhrmacher, a German tourist who visited the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, says the mobile payment app she used made it impressively easy for her to purchase traditional Chinese souvenirs and crafts. All payments were incredibly seamless regardless of whether she used mobile payments, MasterCard or Visa, she said, underscoring just how accessible payment methods have become for foreigners traveling in China.
Alibaba data shows that traditional tourist destinations such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing attracted plenty of foreign travelers while cities such as Xiamen, Xi’an, Suzhou, and Chengdu popped up as new popular travel destinations for foreign travelers using mobile payments.
Major holidays like the Spring Festival give mobile payment firms like FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) a huge opportunity to grow their market share not just domestically but also among foreigners that could become frequent visitors to the country.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FNGR
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the ChineseWire website applicable to all content provided by CW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.ChineseWire.com/Disclaimer
Data from the People’s Bank of China has revealed that the travel environment in China was smoother and much more convenient for foreigners during the just-concluded Spring Festival thanks to improved mobile payment services. The data shows a significant surge in transaction volumes by international travelers during the 2025 Chinese New Year compared to the 2024 holiday.
There was a notable increase in foreign visitors as well as payment transactions in the 2025 Spring Festival compared to the previous year’s festival, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, with inbound arrivals seeing a 150% year-over-year increase. According to the People’s Bank of China, the volume of cross-border transactions processed by NetsUnion Clearing Corporation and China UnionPay from January 28th to February 4th grew by 124.54% while total transaction values increased by 90.49%.
This represents a massive jump in mobile money transactions among international travelers in China in just one year. The Chinese Spring Festival is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country, attracting a multitude of international tourists and regularly generating tens of billions of dollars annually.
With millions of foreign travelers heading into China during the event, mobile money services have become increasingly integral to providing these travelers with smooth payment experiences, whether they are taking public transportation, paying for a hotel, or buying a souvenir.
China’s remarkable progress in the mobile payment space has also made the East Asian nation a popular destination for foreign travelers who are assured of smooth and seamless payment services. In many cases, mobile payment platforms in China enable foreigners to link their bank accounts to their mobile payment accounts, allowing for incredibly convenient payment systems.
Local mobile payment applications coupled with international credit cards made it possible for foreign tourists to engage in activities such as sightseeing, dining, and shopping, immersing them fully into the cultural experiences most associated with the Chinese Spring Festival.
Carla Uhrmacher, a German tourist who visited the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, says the mobile payment app she used made it impressively easy for her to purchase traditional Chinese souvenirs and crafts. All payments were incredibly seamless regardless of whether she used mobile payments, MasterCard or Visa, she said, underscoring just how accessible payment methods have become for foreigners traveling in China.
Alibaba data shows that traditional tourist destinations such as Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing attracted plenty of foreign travelers while cities such as Xiamen, Xi’an, Suzhou, and Chengdu popped up as new popular travel destinations for foreign travelers using mobile payments.
Major holidays like the Spring Festival give mobile payment firms like FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) a huge opportunity to grow their market share not just domestically but also among foreigners that could become frequent visitors to the country.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to FingerMotion Inc. (NASDAQ: FNGR) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/FNGR
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the ChineseWire website applicable to all content provided by CW, wherever published or re-published: https://www.ChineseWire.com/Disclaimer
