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This may be a signal of an accelerated push towards global expansion

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is test-trialling international credit card payments, and an English interface of its app, according to a report by the SCMP.

The report cited that several users discovered that over the weekend, the app began displaying part of the user interface in English; destinations, pick-up points and search results were in English or pinyin.

And while the payments page was still in Chinese, riders could now register international credit cards.

Previously, riders could only pay using Chinese online payment platforms WeChat Pay or Alipay.

Currently, there is no option to switch the English interface back to Chinese but the report said that Didi will eventually implement a bilingual option.

Such a move, when successfully implemented, will help fill the gap of Uber left when Didi bought over its Chinese division last year. Didi’s new Uber China app has barred all foreign credit cards and its interface is only available in Chinese.

Thus, foreigners in China reliant on ride-hailing apps were left in the lurch. This could all change with Didi’s bilingual revamp.

On top that, it would signal a more aggressive push for Didi to compete in the global market. Last year, it made two investments in other Asia-based ride-hailing apps — Grab and Ola.

Adding to that, last week, Didi announced the launch of a new international business unit.

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