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September 6, 2023
On the web
WeChat Pay Introduces Palm-Scanning Payment Tech in 7-Eleven Stores in Guangdong [China]
TechNode
WeChat Pay Tests New Installment Payment Credit Product Named Fen Qi
TechNode
May 23, 2023
On the web
WeChat Makes Facial Recog Payment Systems Talk to the Hand
The Register
October 17, 2022
On the web
Alipay Test of Money Transfers Via WeChat Seen as First Breach of Mobile Payments ‘Walled Garden’
South China Morning Post
“The wall separating China’s two leading mobile payment systems may have started to crack after Ant Group’s Alipay rolled out a trial service that uses a QR code to enable the transfer of funds to users of rival app WeChat. While direct money transfers between the two apps is still not possible despite Beijing’s calls to dismantle the “walled gardens” operated by China’s Big Tech firms, the new service from Alipay – only available to a limited number of users in a trial run – marks a small step towards bridging the two mutually exclusive payment services, which together account for over 90 per cent of China’s mobile payments market. To carry out the transaction, Alipay users generate a QR code after specifying the amount up to a maximum of 2,000 yuan (US$278) per transfer. The code is shared with the WeChat user, who then must use Alipay to scan the code and receive the funds.”
June 27, 2022
On the web
China NFT Weekly: WeChat Bans NFT Accounts
Pandaily
“WeChat, China’s most popular social media platform with over 1.2 billion monthly active users, has updated its policies to ban accounts providing access to crypto or NFT-related services. The new guidelines will restrict or ban the issuance, trade, and financing of crypto and NFTs as these activities are now viewed as illegal.”
June 23, 2022
On the web
Tencent’s WeChat Wants No More Talk of Cryptocurrency and NFTs
The Register
“China’s ban on cryptocurrency mining – and general dislike of any form of blockchain-based assets – has seen web giant Tencent clamp down on discussion of the subjects on its massive WeChat and Weixin messaging platforms. News of Tencent’s policy can be found in recent amendments to its terms of service which last week added a section about cryptocurrency and NFTs. The added verbiage states that accounts engaged in discussion of crypto trading, exchange between bit-bucks and real money, or provision of pricing services for digital currencies, all need to stop it. Account holders whose chats veer into the topics described above will be warned, and Tencent may restrict some functions of their accounts. Continued discussion of forbidden crypto will see accounts banned.”
January 20, 2021
On the web
WeChat Advances E-commerce Goals With $250B in Transactions
TechCrunch
“WeChat continues to advance its shopping ambitions as the social networking app turns 10 years old. The Chinese messenger facilitated 1.6 trillion yuan (close to $250 billion) in annual transactions through its “mini programs,” third-party services that run on the super app that allow users to buy clothes, order food, hail taxis and more.”
February 6, 2019
On the web
7-Eleven expands mobile payment options – Canadian Business Franchise
Canadian Business Franchise
“Retail franchisor 7-Eleven has announced it will now accept Chinese mobile payment systems Alipay and WeChat Pay. These mobile payment options are currently available at 35 select locations in Vancouver and Toronto, with plans for expansion in the next few months.”
November 20, 2018
On the wires
7-Eleven Becomes First Convenience Retailer Chain in Canada to Accept Alipay and WeChat Pay
“Today, 7-Eleven Inc. announced that participating stores in Canada will now accept Chinese mobile payment systems Alipay and WeChat Pay. The world’s largest convenience retailer is collaborating with cross-border mobile payment company and market leader CITCON. Alipay and WeChat Pay will now be available at 35 select locations in Vancouver and Toronto, with plans for expansion in next few months.”
November 7, 2018
On the web
China’s WeChat joins retail and mobile payments with social media
STORES
“From the consumer’s point of view, the greatest benefit of the do-everything platform is they don’t have to juggle dozens of apps. WeChat puts everything from social media and transportation to retail and banking in one platform, enabling consumers to message friends, play games, book a medical appointment, access bank accounts and make purchases without having to switch apps.”
July 24, 2018
On the web
China’s Mobile Payment Platforms Are Transforming Online Marketing
TechNode
“In some cases, marketing with the help of mobile payments is beginning to eat away classical online marketing strategies. Chinese businesses have tried many ways to attract users but we can’t neglect that the costs of online promotions have begun to climb, said Ma Zheng, CEO of CJI (创匠信息科技), a company specialized in building mobile payment solutions. The numbers from Adobe’s last year’s study on digital advertising confirm his view. “One year ago, some businesses gave up attracting users online, and they went back to offline to seek opportunities,” Ma told TechNode. “Mobile payments seem to be a great intermediary. The growth from online is limited but there is still growth potential from offline, so businesses started integrating their marketing solutions with mobile payments for new ways of attracting users.””
July 19, 2018
Top Post
Chinese Tech Giant Tencent Plans To Expand Its US Payments Footprint — Despite Ongoing Trade War
CNBC
“Tencent has focused on expanding the payments service abroad, but it has stopped short of trying to create a local version of WeChat for other countries. Instead, the company has been focused on signing up merchants in many countries to accept WeChat Pay so Chinese tourists can use the payments platform abroad. And Tencent is gearing up to announce that many more stores in the U.S. will accept WeChat Pay later this year.”
July 12, 2018
On the web
The Chinese Tourists Will Be WeChat Pay’s Focus For Next Three Years
Jing Travel
“In an unsurprising move, Grace Yin, Director of WeChat Pay’s International Operations, confirmed in an interview that Tencent’s WeChat Pay would continue to focus almost exclusively on Chinese outbound tourists for the next three years. A move abroad would seem to be the logical next step for both Alipay and WeChat Pay, as both platforms have become wildly popular in China and have few avenues to garner more customers domestically. Still, the challenges of integrating the platforms into banking systems and lack of brand recognition outside of China have prompted both companies to continue focusing on Chinese customers. With more Chinese tourists going abroad every year, making sure WeChat Pay is usable abroad makes it more likely that when users return home they will continue using it.”
June 29, 2018
On the wires
99 Ranch Market And CITCON Partner To Deliver Customer-centric Shopping Experience
PR Newswire
“CITCON, the leading cross-border mobile payment company, announced that 99 Ranch Market, the largest Asian supermarket chain in the United States has successfully deployed the CITCON mobile payment and marketing solution, which allows it to accept China’s most preferred payment options Alipay and WeChat Pay, and leverage their marketing channels to better service Chinese customers.”
May 11, 2018
On the web
Chinese Messaging Giant WeChat Shuts Down 3rd Party Blockchain App
CCN
“WeChat is one of the world’s largest platform with more than 1 Billion active users worldwide. WeChat has support for ‘Mini-Programs’ where developers can create applications to run within the messaging platform. The company just suspended Xiao Xieyi, the first blockchain mini-program on the platform.”
February 27, 2018
On the web
WeChat, Alipay offer overseas tax refund services to tourists, meaning no more airport queues
South China Morning Post
“The tedious tax refund process at airports and the long wait to get rebates for purchases made on overseas trips may soon be a thing of the past for Chinese tourists. WeChat Pay and Alipay, China’s two biggest mobile payment platforms, have recently forged partnerships with tax refund companies to enable Chinese tourists to obtain rebates on their purchases via their respective mobile apps.”
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