From CNBC:

Scanning QR codes with Alipay, a mobile pay app, is now the preferred payment method in China. Foreign visitors can now spend up to $2,000 annually without registering ID, four times more than before, benefiting international tourists. Beijing aims to make transactions easier as mobile payment becomes more widespread.

Alipay, operated by Alibaba affiliate Ant Group, announced the increased limits for international travelers, with the option for ID-free transactions up to $5,000 and an annual limit of $50,000 for registered IDs. WeChat Pay, the other major mobile payment app in China, also allows some payments without ID registration, but exact figures were not confirmed by Tencent.

Changes in transaction limits were made in accordance with recent announcements from the People’s Bank of China, which aims to facilitate daily purchasing by foreign visitors to China. The program Alipay+ allows users of certain overseas mobile pay apps to directly scan QR codes to make payments in China. People’s Bank of China deputy governor previously mentioned the potential for raising the $500 threshold for ID-free transactions in the future.



Read more: China is making it much easier for foreigners to use mobile pay