Tencent expands mobile payment network in push for more seamless cross-border payments

Cross-border payments continue to be costly and complicated, often because of incompatible systems, even as digital payments change how we shop and pay domestically.

Chinese technology giant Tencent thinks the solution is already in your smartphone: your local payment app. It hopes to let consumers use their preferred payment app when they are travelling in China.

“A defining trend in payments is the push towards interoperability and cross-border connectivity of digital wallets and payment systems,” said Daniel Hong, vice-president of Tencent Financial Technology, Tencent’s fintech arm. 

“Rather than operating in silos, users will be able to pay merchants in other countries with their local wallets and payment tools without friction.”

China’s Cross-Border Interconnection Payment Gateway (CPG), for instance, enables international digital wallet owners and financial institutions to connect directly to Weixin Pay, Tencent’s flagship mobile payment service and one of the dominant payment systems in China. 

Visitors to China will not need to download WeChat, the international version of Weixin used outside China, as they can use their existing payments app to scan Weixin Pay’s QR code or present their own wallet’s QR code when buying from a Chinese retailer. 

BT in your inbox

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign Up

Sign Up

CPG is the cross-border payment system approved by regulator People’s Bank of China that allows companies to collaborate on cross-border QR payments through a single-point connection to the Chinese mainland.

Hong said Tencent, through Singapore-based cross-border payment business TenPay Global, already allows international travellers to link major credit cards to Weixin Pay.

This feature will be extended to several digital wallets including Singapore’s GrabPay, ShopeePay and LiquidPay as well as national payment networks such as Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet) and National Payment Corporation of Vietnam this year.

Driving growth

Tencent’s push to improve the cross-border payments experience for consumers comes amid a slowdown in the global payments industry.

Revenue growth for the industry is projected to fall to 4 per cent annually through 2029, down from 7 per cent between 2019 and 2024, said the 2025 McKinsey Global Payments Report, as interest rates decline and rising competition puts downward pressure on fees. 

“The growth in transaction-based revenue is expected to slow as consumers increasingly use lower-cost payment options like account-to-account transfers and digital wallets,” the US management consultancy firm added.

Credit card payments, particularly those made overseas, are a major revenue source for banks and payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard. Singapore banks charge 3.25 per cent on transactions made overseas or through overseas-based online merchants.

Hong, however, believes that the next phase of growth will be driven less by transaction volume and more by innovation and integration.

“Competition and innovation naturally put healthy pressure on the payments industry to keep improving efficiency and reducing costs,” he said. He sees this as a positive development, as lower costs will benefit both merchants and consumers while encouraging wider adoption of digital payments.

“Merchants are looking beyond simple cost savings to solutions that help them build loyalty programmes, acquire new users and drive repeat purchases,” he added. “This is where we see significant opportunities to work closely with partners in creating an open, diverse, and inclusive borderless payment network.”

Going global

Tencent has broadened its focus from serving the China market and Chinese nationals who are living or travelling abroad to include consumers and businesses from around the world.

Through TenPay Global Checkout, Weixin Mini Program merchants outside China can accept local payments from a wide range of digital wallets, bank-based payment methods, and credit and debit cards. WeChat users outside China can pay merchants within mini programs using the local payment method they prefer without having to pay transaction fees.

Mini programs are lightweight software applications that run within ecosystems such as WeChat.

This service will be available in Singapore later this year. Retailers will be able to accept payments from multiple sources including PayNow.

Tencent plans to extend TenPay Global Checkout to more markets around the world, starting with the Asia-Pacific region, Hong said, citing Macau and Japan as examples.

From payments to remittances

Beyond payments for travel and consumption, Tencent is expanding its role in the cross-border remittance market – a crucial channel for migrant workers to send part of their income home.

In Singapore, Tencent is introducing an offline-to-online mini program that allows Chinese workers to start remittance transactions digitally at physical retail outlets. Customers can scan a QR code to open a Weixin Mini Program on their phones, complete the remittance details in their preferred language, then pay in cash or digitally at the counter. This reduces waiting time and minimises errors, said Hong.

TenPay Global partners over 60 remittance providers in more than 100 countries, allowing users to remit funds directly into Weixin wallets in China. The partners include OCBC, Visa Direct, Wise, Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria, Panda Remit and Singtel Dash Remit.

This was produced in partnership with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Global Finance & Technology Network.

For more stories, go to https://bt.sg/sff2025