Recently, the "Eight Measures for the Construction of Cross-Border Payment Interconnection in the Erenhot Area of the China (Inner Mongolia) Pilot Free Trade Zone" was officially reviewed and approved, and has been issued for implementation by the Erenhot Municipal Government.

These eight measures comprehensively cover foreign-related consumption needs across all scenarios, including dining, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, entertainment, and medical services. On one hand, they adhere to the principle of "accept all that can be accepted, connect all that can be connected" by upgrading the payment terminals and QR codes of existing merchants, enabling a single code for multiple uses and terminal compatibility, and supporting the acceptance of overseas e-wallets.

On the other hand, the policy encourages the introduction of low-fee support initiatives, optimizing foreign-related payment services for merchants in business districts, hotels, scenic spots, and medical institutions. It is reported that Erenhot City will establish a series of cross-border payment demonstration streets and benchmark merchants, with unified specifications for the placement of foreign card acceptance signage and routine inspections.

In terms of consumption incentives, the policy will pilot offering consumption subsidies to inbound international visitors, leveraging the "Hello! China" app to ensure the precise distribution of these subsidies. For service guarantees, the authorities will issue a bilingual Chinese-Mongolian version of the "Guidelines for Mobile Payment Services for International Visitors to Inner Mongolia," build an integrated online cross-border payment service platform, establish a regular consultation mechanism between the government, enterprises, and banks, and conduct ongoing multi-channel publicity campaigns to continuously optimize the payment service supply in the free trade zone.