Cross-border QR payment provider 8B has integrated Weixin Pay for merchants in Kazakhstan, allowing businesses across the tourism, retail, hospitality, and transportation sectors to accept payments directly from Chinese visitors.
Growing Chinese tourism and the payments gap
In the first 11 months of 2025, Chinese tourist arrivals in Kazakhstan exceeded 876,000, surpassing the full-year total of 655,000 recorded in 2024. The year 2025 has been designated as the Year of Chinese Tourism in Kazakhstan, with bilateral initiatives aiming to further expand travel flows between the two countries. Direct air connectivity has increased to serve Almaty, Astana, and regional destinations.
Chinese tourists are known for their high spending, with an average of USD 1,000 spent per trip. Total expenditure by Chinese visitors contributed approximately USD 500 million to Kazakhstan’s economy in 2025. Given that Kazakhstan received 28.6 million international visitors in 2024, the Chinese segment represents a significant market opportunity.
The role of Weixin Pay
Weixin Pay, part of the Weixin/WeChat ecosystem, is a primary payment method for most Chinese consumers both at home and abroad. Prior to this integration, Kazakhstani merchants did not have an easy way to enable Weixin Pay acceptance, thus limiting their ability to convert Chinese tourist spending.
Ecosystem reach and merchant visibility
Through 8B’s integration, Kazakhstani merchants can now appear in the Weixin Pay Global Gift Pack mini-programme, an in-app feature that surfaces partner merchants to Chinese users during international travel. This represents a native channel for businesses in airline, tour operator, retail, or hospitality segments to reach Chinese consumers at a time when they are actively planning and making spending decisions abroad.
The rollout begins with the travel and transportation sectors, which account for the largest share of Chinese tourist spending. Merchant onboarding in education, tourism services, retail, restaurants, and entertainment is underway in Almaty and Astana. According to 8B, any merchant in Kazakhstan can now access this integration without facing technical or compliance barriers that have historically made cross-border acquiring difficult for small and medium-sized businesses.
Regulatory compliance in Kazakhstan is managed through Zesta LLP, a licensed local payment organization (License No. 02-23-179), which provides the legal framework for transaction processing under local requirements.
Market context and next steps
8B is focused on cross-border QR payment infrastructure in emerging markets across Asia. The Kazakhstan launch reflects a broader trend across Central Asia, where the recovery of China’s outbound tourism, following years of travel restrictions, is driving increased demand for payment acceptance that aligns with Chinese consumer habits.
A company official from 8B stated that merchants who allow Chinese guests to pay as they do at home will be well-positioned to benefit from the current surge in Chinese tourism, describing Weixin Pay not as an alternative method but as part of everyday financial life for Chinese travelers.
