People check out a street light show in Singapore. (Photo/Xinhua)

Shenzhen - Tencent's cross-border payment platform TenPay Global announced a cooperation initiative with ShopeePay on Thursday, enabling users of the popular e-wallet in Southeast Asia to pay directly by scanning WeChat Pay QR codes.

The service will initially be available to ShopeePay users in Singapore and Thailand, before expanding to Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines in the future.

Supphavit Hongamornsin, a manager with ShopeePay, said the initiative aims to offer customers a seamless purchasing experience beyond their homes as travel and commerce flourish between China and Southeast Asian countries, thus unlocking new economic opportunities.

Tencent has partnered with nearly 50 international e-wallet operators, including PayPal, Hana Pay, Travel Wallet, MoMo and ZaloPay, to strengthen its digital payment network.

Specifically, WeChat Pay has expanded its in-app payment guidance to 16 languages and set up offline service desks at airports, ports of entry, hotels and key commercial districts across China, streamlining payment services for inbound international visitors.

The expansion comes as China continues to see robust growth in inbound tourism, supported in part by optimized visa-free policies and refreshing summer attractions for international visitors.

According to the National Immigration Administration, over 22.91 million foreign nationals entered China in the first half of this year, up 20.4 percent year on year. Of the total, more than 17.81 million entered under visa-free policies, marking a 30.6 percent year-on-year increase.