The extended Spring Festival holiday in 2026 is heating up the consumer market. Recent data released by payment giants WeChat Pay and Alipay reveals a comprehensive surge in spending across travel, cross-border, and county-level markets. AI technology is also deeply reshaping payment scenarios and public services. According to payment data from China UnionPay and NetsUnion for New Year's Eve, the industry showcased a new pattern of simultaneous consumption recovery and technological application, evidenced by 4.931 billion total transactions, a 21.64% year-on-year increase, and a peak instantaneous rate of 144,700 transactions per second, up 7.18%.
Cross-border payments experienced a two-way狂欢. WeChat Pay reported a strong start for Spring Festival consumption, with offline transaction volumes for travel and lifestyle/entertainment rising over 20% year-on-year. "Zodiac-themed travel" emerged as a new trend, with destinations containing the character for "horse" seeing notable popularity. Beyond visiting Malta and Romania for exotic experiences, Malaysia and the Maldives welcomed significant waves of Chinese tourists, with offline spending surging 131% and 186% year-on-year, respectively. Transactions via Mini Programs in Malaysia grew over 140% during the holiday.
While zodiac travel gained traction, Asian regions remained top choices for outbound travelers. Transaction volumes in Macau and Hong Kong increased by 39% and 24%, respectively, joining Thailand, South Korea, and Malaysia as the top five destinations for offline overseas transactions. Boosted by the Winter Olympics, transaction value through Mini Programs in Italy surged over 190%, making it the "fastest-rising dark horse" in global transaction growth during the Horse Year holiday.
Inbound tourism also saw a concentrated boom. Overseas visitors using international bank cards linked to WeChat Pay maintained rapid growth in offline transactions, with daily active users of related Mini Programs more than doubling. Spending on medical aesthetics doubled year-on-year, becoming one of the fastest-growing sectors for international card users.
Alipay's data also indicated robust growth. Consumption in China using its "card binding" and Alipay+ services during the first five holiday days rose over 60% compared to the previous year. Spending by inbound tourists via Alipay increased by more than 80%. Transactions via Alipay's "Tap to Pay" feature grew fourfold, while visitors from South Korea, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan increasingly used their home e-wallets in China, with transaction volumes up by as much as 4.6 times.
Shanghai was the top city for inbound Alipay spending, with nearly 100% growth, followed by Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Beijing, Yiwu, Zhuhai, Hangzhou, Foshan, Suzhou, and Chengdu. An analyst noted that cross-border consumption now relies more heavily on digital services, with tighter integration between transaction scenarios and cultural themes, moving towards lighter, more convenient, and scenario-driven experiences.
According to state media, China UnionPay and NetsUnion processed 4.931 billion payment transactions on New Year's Eve, up 21.64% year-on-year. The peak period for digital red packet sending occurred from 23:50 on New Year's Eve to 00:20 the next day, with a record high of 144,700 online payments per second.
The most disruptive change in this year's holiday payment data was the full emergence of AI. Previously a marginal player, AI has now become a core competitive factor in payments. Ant Group reported explosive growth in its core AI services during the holiday: users of Alipay's "AI Pay" surpassed 100 million, and the Ant A Fu App also exceeded 100 million users. After processing over 120 million transactions on February 12, Alipay AI Pay became the world's first AI-native payment product to surpass 100 million in both transaction volume and users, marking its entry into large-scale commercial use.
An analyst suggested the surge in AI payment usage was driven by customer acquisition efforts during internet platform "red packet wars" and a solid technological foundation built through testing in high-frequency scenarios in 2025. The 2026 holiday served as a catalytic node, transforming AI from an auxiliary tool into a core engine driving consumption and completing a key shift from perception to execution, enhancing user retention.
In contrast, WeChat integrated AI into daily holiday activities. Its AI search top five terms showed users have developed a habit of consulting AI first for matters like New Year greetings, Spring Festival Gala schedules, and holiday freeway toll times, making AI a go-to for problem-solving during the festival.
The strategies of the two giants are becoming clearer: WeChat maintains its core integration of payments, social networking, and lifestyle services, while Ant is betting on vertical AI payment and health tracks. Industry competition is shifting towards technology, scenario application, and ecosystem barriers.
Experts highlighted that a significant feature of the 2026 holiday payments was AI's move from the background to the forefront, deeply integrating with payment and consumption scenarios to enable safer, more convenient, and efficient transactions. Future exploration should focus on granularity and ease of use, such as automatically selecting the best discounts or matching user preferences during purchases.
Another analyst attributed Ant's AI Pay surge to concentrated scenario usage, mature user education, ecosystem synergy, and promotional incentives. High-frequency holiday spending and natural interaction methods lowered barriers, facilitating rapid adoption among older and lower-tier market users. Moving forward, institutions should prioritize scenario implementation, security, compliance, open collaboration, and user experience, focusing on high-frequency areas like tourism, dining, and retail, while enhancing risk control and privacy protection to transition AI payments from novelty to everyday use.