📈 LankaPay & Weixin Pay Launch QR Integration for Chinese Tourists

Sri Lanka’s national payment network, LankaPay, has officially integrated with Weixin Pay (WeChat Pay), allowing Chinese travellers to make seamless payments at over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants across the island. • Strategic Impact & Financial Inclusion The partnership aims to drive tourism revenue into the rural economy by enabling small vendors to accept global digital payments. This move is designed to reduce the "leakage effect"—currently estimated at over 30%—by ensuring more tourist spend remains within local communities. • Market Projections & Tourism Chinese Arrivals: Expected to reach 300,000 in 2026, a significant increase from 132,000 in 2025. Growth Trends: Weixin Pay reported a 34% YoY increase in cross-border transactions during the 2025 summer period. Merchant Benefits: Transaction fees for local businesses are capped at a 1.8% merchant discount rate, offering a more cost-effective alternative to traditional card networks. • Digital Ecosystem Beyond payments, the integration utilizes Weixin’s Mini Programs to engage tourists through the entire travel cycle—from pre-trip planning and in-trip services to post-trip purchases of Sri Lankan products (e.g., tea and handicrafts) directly from China. This collaboration marks a major step in digitizing the tourism and retail sectors, positioning Sri Lanka as a tech-ready destination for the Asia-Pacific market.