China’s expanding number of tourists is creating demand for more payment choices, and Wirecard hopes to tap into the growth with a prepaid card it’s developed with Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency.
The Ctrip Visa card, issued by Wirecard, can be loaded with seven different currencies, enabling travelers to pay with a card using a specific exchange rate in several of the world’s top destinations for Chinese tourists, Wirecard said in a Monday release.
The move comes as mobile wallet providers like Ant Financial’s Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay continue to
The new card, targeting Ctrip’s 110 million customers, ensures nearly universal acceptance in developed markets with a locked-in exchange rate, which some consumers prefer, Wirecard said in the release. The card may be loaded in advance with currency from Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, the U.K., U.S. or Europe.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with one of the world’s largest online travel agents, and to be bringing our multi-currency payment solution to a fast-growing market segment in China,” said Arne Matthias, Wirecard’s executive vice president of issuing, in the release.
“Multi-currency Visa cards give consumers a convenient, secure way to pay whenever they travel, with the added benefits of certainty of exchange rates and breadth of acceptance,” said Hamish Moline, Visa’s head of digital partnerships for Asia Pacific, in the release.
