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International visitors to Shenzhen made 189 million payment transactions worth 26.4 billion yuan in 2025, up about 30% in both number and value, according to the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch. Wider acceptance of foreign cards and faster tax-refund services have helped drive visitor spending.
Overview
According to a report on the Shenzhen government's website on January 14, 2026, data from the People's Bank of China Shenzhen Branch show that international visitors to Shenzhen made 189 million payment transactions worth 26.4 billion yuan in 2025. Both the number and the value of transactions rose about 30% year on year.
Shenzhen has been expanding acceptance of foreign-issued cards, offering payment support at the airport and speeding up tax refunds for overseas shoppers. The city says these improvements in the payment environment have helped boost spending by international visitors.
Background
Mobile payments via smartphones are ubiquitous in China, but for international visitors, the limited number of places where they can use their own cards or e-wallets has long been a challenge. China has been trialing unilateral visa-free entry for nationals of a number of countries to encourage inbound travel, and the rising number of visitors has increased the need for more convenient payment options.
According to Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, entries and exits by foreign nationals through the airport rose 44% year on year in January-November 2025, while visa-free arrivals jumped 133%. As visitor numbers grew, upgrading the city's payment infrastructure became a priority.
Key Points
| Item | 2025 results |
|---|---|
| Payments by international visitors | 189 million transactions, 26.4 billion yuan (both up about 30%) |
| POS terminals accepting international cards | Over 52,000 |
| Transactions on those terminals | 1.76 million, totaling 3.74 billion yuan |
| Integrated service centers at entry points | Over 23,000 inquiries and 3,300 transactions |
- Support at the airport and entry points: Payment service centers for international visitors, including at Bao'an Airport, offer multilingual help with payments, tourism, telecoms and transport. Self-service currency exchange machines, international ATMs and digital yuan kiosks allow visitors to set up payment methods quickly.
- Payments around the city: Shenzhen says it is a leader in allowing visitors to use overseas e-wallets directly, linking international cards to local payment apps and offering "pocket money wallets" for visitors.
- Tax refunds: In 2025, the city launched third-party refund services through Alipay and WeChat, enabling instant refunds at the point of purchase, along with a mini-program for one-click online applications. In January-November 2025, tax-refund transactions rose 13-fold and sales of items eligible for instant refunds grew nearly 40-fold.
The report also highlighted individual experiences. A tourist from Spain set up mobile payment within minutes with help from airport staff, and a visitor from Mongolia used his home e-wallet at the China Hi-Tech Fair without switching apps. A tourist from France received a tax refund in under a minute at a duty-free shop in Qianhai simply by tapping her phone. The airport's foreign passenger service center also offers AI translation devices supporting more than 100 languages.
Implications for Japan-Shenzhen Exchange
For business travelers and tourists from Japan, the growing number of merchants accepting international cards and better support at the airport are likely to make stays in Shenzhen more convenient. Being able to set up payment methods right after arrival is particularly reassuring for short-term business visitors unfamiliar with local payment apps.
Growth in visitor spending is also a topic of interest for Japanese companies operating retail and service businesses in Shenzhen. Attention is turning to how faster tax refunds and more diverse payment options may change visitors' shopping behavior.
Outlook
Shenzhen says it aims to unlock the spending potential of international visitors and set a global benchmark for payment convenience. However, the announcement did not include specific targets or new measures for 2026. With the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting scheduled to take place in Shenzhen in November 2026, attention is turning to how far payment and tax-refund services for international visitors will be expanded.
From the Association
The Association will continue to follow policies and services that affect the convenience of visitors from Japan to Shenzhen, and will strive to provide information that supports travel and exchange between the two regions.
Sources
This article is based on publicly available information and is provided for reference only; accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.