COLOMBO: Chinese tourists visiting Sri Lanka can now pay for their goods and services through the WeChat Pay facility –one of the leading mobile payment solutions in China, following a partnership between the Commercial Bank of Ceylon PLC and Tenpay Payment Technology Ltd.
The bank said in a statement that this mobile app solution is brought to the Sri Lankan market in partnership with Wells Digital Infrastructure (Pvt) Ltd., and SwiftPass Technologies Co. Ltd., a leading electronic payments solutions provider which facilitates Commercial Bank’s acquiring of ‘WeChat Pay’ transactions in Sri Lanka.
The ‘WeChat Pay’ channel will be made available through a special Point of Sale (POS) device that will be provided to merchants who attract Chinese clientele in Sri Lanka, the statement said.
‘WeChat’ is a Chinese multi-purpose messaging, social media and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. It was first released in 2011, and by 2018 was one of the world’s largest standalone mobile apps with over 1040 million monthly active users and 600 million monthly active ‘WeChat Pay’ users, specifically. ‘WeChat Pay’ also sees 600 million daily transactions effected through its system.
Commenting on the acquisition of the legal rights to ‘WeChat Pay’ in Sri Lanka, Commercial Bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. S. Renganathan said: “Commercial Bank always strives to keep with the times and provide the most relevant services that meet the needs of the hour. As the country attracts many Chinese tourists, the Bank believes this solution will not only increase the convenience factor for them, but also enable Chinese travellers to use a payment option they are familiar with.”
Interested merchants can request the Bank to provide them with the special POS device.Once this is in place, visiting customers can choose multiple ‘WeChat Pay’payment methods to make payments through QR codes. This solution also enables them to view the value of their purchases and pay for them in Yuan or any major currency of their choice, without losing out on currency conversion rates, the Bank explained.
Commercial Bank operates a network of 266 branches and 830 ATMs in Sri Lanka. Commercial Bank’s overseas operations encompass Bangladesh, where the Bank operates 19 outlets; Myanmar, where it has a Representative Office in Yangon and a Microfinance company in Nay PyiTaw; and the Maldives, where the Bank has a fully-fledged Tier I Bank with a majority stake.
The bank’s initiative follows a major push by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) to woo more Chinese tourists to the island. As part of the ongoing promotional campaign, Supreme Global Holdings Limited, a Sri Lankan company has tied up with Alibaba, the internationally renowned Chinese technology company, which runs Fliggy, a highly successful online travel service platform.
Through a vast network of online travel agencies and direct travel service providers operating from its virtual marketplace, Fliggy offers a range of travel products including flights, hotels, tour packages and car rentals.
Fliggy and similar online travel platforms are extremely popular among Chinese travellers, especially the millennials who are moving away from traditional group packages and looking to create their own tailor-made travel itineraries using the convenience and speed offered via the internet. Chinese travelers are also becoming increasingly focused on their well-being and the purpose for making outbound trips has changed from sightseeing and shopping to enjoying high-quality services.
Driven by the sheer size of its population, China is the world’s number one source market for tourism with 130 million outbound trips made in 2017, resulting in an estimated US $ 115.29 billion spent during last year, according to research by Ctrip, another leading Chinese online travel service provider that is considered the second largest online travel agent in the world.
Sri Lanka achieved a 10.3% increase in tourist arrivals in 2018 with 2.33 million tourists compared with , 2.1 million tourist arrivals in 2017. Recenly published industry statistics show that China continues to be one of the main source markets for Sri Lanka’s tourism industry with the government targeting at least 1 million Chinese tourists per year by 2020.
Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, which aims to attract 3 million tourist arrivals with an earning of USD 4 billion in 2019, received a big boost from Lonely Planet, the world’s top travel guide, which named Sri Lanka the best destination to travel to in 2019.
