No transaction fees and third-party apps: S’pore travellers cheer expanded payment options in China

SINGAPORE – As an account manager travelling to China at least 10 times a year for work and leisure, Victoria Goh effortlessly uses popular e-wallet WeChat Pay for rides, shopping and dining.

But like many travellers, the 29-year-old often pays more for her purchases than necessary. Each time her transaction exceeds 200 yuan (S$38), a 3 per cent fee is levied on her Singapore-issued debit card that is linked to WeChat Pay to top up the e-wallet.

These additional charges, levied by WeChat Pay, are now behind her.

She is among millions of DBS Bank users who are now able to remit funds directly from their bank account to their WeChat Pay e-wallet, and make payment via merchant QR codes in China without incurring additional platform fees.

The update comes as Chinese payment giant TenPay Global, which operates WeChat Pay, opened up its remittance service to foreign passport holders residing in or visiting China.

It is the latest in a series of moves that have made payment in China increasingly seamless for foreigners. Since February, OCBC Bank has allowed its Singapore customers to scan WeChat Pay merchant QR codes for payment directly through the OCBC app, without having to download third-party apps.

Direct transfers from foreign banks were previously not allowed, and the only way foreign passport holders could top up their WeChat Pay wallet is via a linked credit or debit card.

To avoid paying additional fees through the linked credit or debit cards, some travellers had asked friends with Chinese bank accounts to transfer money directly into their WeChat Pay wallets.

Financial adviser Ryan Lok had done this when he went to China for two work trips in 2026.

The 27-year-old added that he would be tapping DBS’ and OCBC’s new features to make payments during his upcoming trip in end-June if the exchange rates the banks charge are “favourable”.

“If the bill is $200, paying an extra 3 per cent is not so bad. But if the bill is $1,000, paying an extra $30 is a lot,” said Lok, who often foots the bill for meals and drinks with friends and clients using WeChat Pay.

In China, most shops do not accept foreign bank-issued credit cards. The most common mode of payment is via QR-code scanning through e-wallets WeChat Pay or AliPay.

Media professional Carol Ang, 48, said that being able to remit from DBS to WeChat Pay is a handy backup plan in case her preferred method of paying via Alipay does not work.

“Every trip, I would encounter at least one instance where my payment does not go through, mostly at smaller food stalls by the road,” said Ang, who added that she has had to keep cash on hand to deal with such contingencies.

DBS is among 60 major banks and institutions globally that TenPay Global works with to allow cross-border remittance for non-Chinese citizens.

“We are continuously exploring opportunities to expand our network of banking and financial institution partners in Singapore,” said a TenPay Global spokesperson, adding that the goal is to achieve “ubiquitous connectivity across the global financial ecosystem”.

OCBC Bank has allowed its Singapore customers to scan UnionPay and Alipay QR codes to make payment directly to Chinese merchants through the OCBC app since 2023 and 2024 respectively.

The expansion to include WeChat Pay QR codes since February has led to an increase in the use of OCBC’s scan and pay feature in China, said OCBC’s head of card payments and personal loans Regina Lim. “Last year, one in five overseas Scan & Pay transactions on the OCBC app was made in China,” said Lim, who added that China has emerged as a top destination for OCBC customers using this feature overseas.

By the end of June, OCBC plans to allow its customers to transfer money directly from the OCBC app to non-Chinese passport holders using WeChat Pay.

Among those who prefer to use OCBC’s Scan & Pay feature is final-year undergraduate Teng Xin Yi. “I don’t want to use so many apps. I can just stick to the OCBC app to make payment,” said the 24-year-old who travels at least once a year to visit her family in China.

“The exchange rate is also not a huge difference and quite competitive.”