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China tech

No bank account needed for Alipay and WeChat Pay

Move opens untapped tourist market for Alibaba and Tencent mobile payments

Labels for WeChat Pay, Alipay and other services are displayed outside a watch store in Hong Kong.   © Reuters

BEIJING/GUANGZHOU -- Visitors to China now can access the country's leading mobile payment apps without having a Chinese bank account, further expanding the reach of Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings as the government promotes tourism.

Both Alibaba's Alipay and Tencent's WeChat Pay added features that let tourists link credit cards to the apps, with some restrictions.

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