Since the beginning of this year, Hunan's government offices, banks and enterprises have made concerted efforts in removing choke points in payment services and bridging the digital divide, focusing on key scenarios and links. Higher-quality and more effective and more convenient payment services have been provided for senior citizens and foreign visitors. The information was announced on April 28 at a press conference held by the Information Office of the Hunan Provincial People's Government.

Bank card acceptance has continuously expanded in Hunan. The acceptance rate of bank cards among key businesses around the province has exceeded 73 percent. Meanwhile, cash acceptance has also continued to be maintained and improved. More than 120,000 "change packets" have been distributed to operating entities, including individual businesses and taxi drivers to facilitate providing change. The number of currency exchange counters has exceeded 1,700, and more than 11,000 ATMs have been upgraded to accept foreign credit and debit cards for cash withdrawal. Mobile payment services have been further streamlined. In the first quarter of this year, foreign visitors to Hunan Province made more than 530,000 transactions through WeChat Pay and Alipay, with a total value of over 82 million CNY.

According to an implementation plan of Hunan Province on optimizing payment services and enhancing the convenience of payment, Hunan will roll out ten main initiatives, including improving payment services in culture and tourism industries, improving payment services in the public transportation sector, continuing to optimize payment services in other sectors, and enhancing payment convenience.

Targeted measures will be carried out around the province. For instance, Zhangjiajie, which is encountering a surging recovery of inbound tourism, will take measures to ensure all  visitors can freely choose bank cards, payment codes, cash, among other payment methods.