Tencent, Visa deepen payments push in China after regulatory green light

Thomas Fuller | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesTencent and Visa are expanding their partnership in cross-border payments and AI-powered commerce, the companies said Thursday, deepening their push into China’s payments market.The agreement follows fresh regulatory approvals for U.S. financial firms in China, with Visa and Citi receiving the green light this month to expand their operations in the world’s second-largest economy.Under the memorandum of understanding, Tencent and Visa will explore ways to make payments easier for travelers entering and leaving China while expanding their cross-border money transfer partnership.The companies also plan to develop payment solutions that would allow travelers to pay participating merchants through Tencent’s Weixin Pay and Visa networks, subject to regulatory requirements.They also aim to expand their collaboration through Visa Direct, Visa’s money transfer service, making it easier for overseas users to send funds into the Weixin Pay ecosystem.The partnership will also extend to agentic commerce, an emerging form of online shopping in which AI agents can help consumers find, select and purchase products or services.Dowson Tong, Tencent's senior...