An Italian tourist uses his home e-wallet Tinaba to pay at a store in Shanghai. [Photo/WeChat account: tocomnews]

As China's inbound tourism surges ahead of the Spring Festival, global digital wallet leaders are racing to make the most of the "China Travel" boom, calling cross-border payment convenience their "first lesson" of the year.

Data from Alibaba's finance arm Ant Group shows that in 2025, more than 10 million inbound travelers used seamless payment services through Alipay+ and Alipay's international card-binding solution, more than doubling consumption among international visitors.

With the Alipay+ "foreign wallet, local use" model, visitors can pay directly using their home e-wallets without downloading new apps, which is now the most popular option among overseas tourists. Transactions made via foreign e-wallets in China jumped 160 percent year-on-year.

Global payment executives say visa-free policies combined with smoother digital payment are set to make 2026 another strong year for China travel.

Matteo Arpe, CEO of Italy's Tinaba, noted that Italian users can now shop and travel across China using their familiar wallet, calling it a "revolutionary change" that is encouraging more Italians to visit — even scanning to pay for silk in Hangzhou.

Executives from Uzbekistan's HUMO and Malaysia's TNG Digital echoed similar optimism, saying familiar mobile payments help travelers feel at home while boosting tourism, trade and study exchanges.

Thanks to Ant Group's efforts, over 30 overseas e-wallets from 13 countries and regions now work across China. Globally, Alipay+ now connects more than 40 payment partners across over 100 markets, linking 1.8 billion users with 150 million merchants worldwide.

A merchant allows Alipay+ payments at her store. [Photo/WeChat account: tocomnews]