It's so easy! Alex uses international bankcard at POS machines in Shanghai

With the 6th China International Import Expo on the horizon, Shanghai has made significant efforts to improve its commercial environment and is now providing great convenience for foreigners to make payments across the city.

It has created a three-way payment service system – swipe cards for large-amount payments, scan QR codes for small amounts, or pay in cash.

To meet the card payment needs of foreigners, Shanghai has placed more than 36,000 point of sales (POS) machines that accept overseas bank cards at the site of the CIIE, which will be held from November 5-10, as well as commercial venues, culture and tourism sites, airports and railway stations across the city.

Earlier this week, Alex Bushroe, an American, visited the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall and Yongping Lane, a 6,000-square-meter compound of fancy restaurants, bars and stores in Xuhui District and a result of city's urban regeneration project.

He tried to pay with the latest POS machines which accept overseas bankcards, helping realize contactless payment with chip credit cards.

At Pudong airport, he posed as a just-arrived foreign tourist and exchanged some Chinese yuan at a Ctrip currency exchange service counter which provides the exchange of currencies from 46 countries.

He also used his MasterCard to buy a cup of coffee at a Starbucks outlet and then scanned the transport QR code on Alipay, which is also bonded with the card.

His next stop was Shanghai New World, a shopping center on the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall, where 42 new cashiers specifically for use by overseas individuals have been added, with all the POS machines upgraded to allow contactless payment with chip credit cards.

It's also easy for foreigners to withdraw Chinese yuan with their overseas bankcards or exchange their foreign currency to Chinese yuan at local banks.

Alex proved this ease by getting some cash quickly from an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) outlet there. The bank also provides a "green channel" for foreigners – a machine through which they can withdraw Chinese yuan with foreign bankcards.

At Yongping Lane, almost all the businesses there are equipped with the new POS machines. So, no matter whether you are dining, drinking or buying something, you need not worry about the payment!