Macau Pass, a contactless smartcard, is accepting mobile payment methods Alipay HK and WeChat Pay HK at its terminals across retail outlets in Macau.
Launched in 1999 as the Transmac IC Card, Macau Pass is utilised to make payments for transport and shopping.
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“To promote the economic development of local merchants in Macau after the Covid-19 epidemic and enhance the consumption experience of overseas tourists, Macau Pass and AlipayHK and WeChat Pay HK’s cross-border mobile payment cooperation has been officially opened,” the company was quoted as saying by the Macau Times.
Tencent rolled out WeChat Pay HK in 2016 following regulatory hurdles.
A year later, Tencent rival Ant Financial collaborated with CK Hutchison to launch Alipay Payment Services (HK).
The payment methods have already secured the green light from Hong Kong’s central bank.
SAR residents can use the mobile payment methods for P2P payments, with transactions paid out in Hong Kong dollars instead of the Chinese yuan.
“Macau Pass hopes to provide Hong Kong visitors with a convenient electronic payment and consumption experience in Macau, promote the enhancement of spending by visitors to Macau, bring business opportunities to local merchants in Macau, and accelerate the economic recovery after the epidemic has eased,” Macau Pass noted.
Notably, Tencent and Ant Financial collaborated with Mastercard in November last year to enable the use of foreign cards in China.
Moreover, early this year, Tencent reportedly decided to integrate the QR code system of its mobile payment platform with that of rival UnionPay.
