Shenzhen will set up payment service points in key hotels to facilitate smooth transactions for visitors from outside the Chinese mainland during the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting next month.

Professionals from financial institutions will be stationed in the hotels to offer a range of services including foreign currency exchange, foreign card binding, domestic use of overseas electronic wallets, digital yuan payments and tax refunds.

The move aims to optimize visitors’ payment experience and build a full-chain payment support system for the high-profile event.

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“From considerate services at the first stop upon entry to diverse channels for tax rebates before departure, payment support will be integrated into every part of visitors’ work and daily life,” Su Yuyu, deputy director of the payment and settlement division (operations office) of the Shenzhen Branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said on Friday.

Eight comprehensive service centers for non-mainland visitors have already been set up at airports and ports to help with payment services at the first stop, with nearly 50,000 enquiries being handled so far.

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In terms of public transport, all metro lines in Shenzhen now support tap-and-go payment with major overseas bank cards, serving 140,000 metro trips by non-mainland visitors as of the end of September.

Shenzhen AI Travel Pass will roll out expanded functions during the upcoming meeting, including real-time translation and public transport access, providing secure, efficient and all-round transport payment safeguards for visitors, Su said.

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Payment services in commercial areas have also been upgraded. Su noted that eight rounds of hands-on training on payment services have been undertaken across 100 core commercial areas citywide, equipping frontline cashiers with the capacity to serve visitors from outside the mainland.

The city is also stepping up efforts to build a group of commercial areas where diverse payment options including overseas bank cards, digital yuan, mobile payments and cash are accepted.

According to the PBOC Shenzhen Branch, individuals from outside the mainland made 163 million non-cash payments in Shenzhen in the first nine months of the year, totaling 23.88 billion yuan ($3.57 billion), rising 19.66 percent and 26.65 percent year-on-year, respectively.

The APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting will be held in Shenzhen on Nov 18 and 19.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com