A foreign customer makes a transaction with Alipay at the Tianjin Juilliard Store. [Photo provided to exploringtianjin.com]

Tianjin has established an international convenient payment pilot area at the Juilliard School, which is located in the city's Binhai New Area.

The initiative focuses on improving the ease of payment for necessities such as food, accommodation, transportation and medical care, and luxuries such as entertainment and retail, with the aim of developing Binhai New Area into an international and regional commercial center.

The Tianjin Juilliard School, the first overseas branch of the prestigious New York school, serves as a cultural and educational bridge, welcoming a steady flow of international visitors, including professors, artists and performers. Given its unique position, the school is an ideal place to role out the pilot program, according to Jiang Shan, general manager of Ant Group's strategic development department in Tianjin.

A foreign customer browses souvenirs at the Tianjin Juilliard School. [Photo provided to exploringtianjin.com]

"Our goal is to enhance the convenience of international payments without imposing additional costs on merchants," said Jiang.

"Foreign artists and visitors often face payment challenges due to a lack of domestic mobile phone numbers or compatible credit cards. Many local businesses are not equipped with foreign card POS machines, making transactions difficult."

Currently, Alipay, one of China's leading mobile payment platforms, supports 5 major bank cards – Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Diners Club and Discover – and its service has benefited tourists from 200 countries and regions.

Additionally, Alipay's seamless payment service offers versions in Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions, Malaysia, South Korea, Mongolia, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

Tianjin establishes an international convenient payment pilot area supported by Alipay, at the Tianjin Juilliard School in the city. [Photo provided to exploringtianjin.com]

According to Alipay, the first half of 2024 saw an 8-fold increase in spending by inbound tourists using the platform compared to the previous year. This surge has also opened up new business opportunities for Chinese merchants, with a 3-fold increase in the number of outlets accepting payments by international visitors using Alipay.