WeChat’s Virtual CNY Ang Pow is a big hit in China

The giving of Red Packets or Ang Pows is a traditional custom in the Chinese New Year celebrations. Just recently, instant messaging service WeChat had experimented with the concept of Virtual Ang Pow where users can send credits between 0.10 to 100 Chinese Yuan (approximately RM0.05 – RM55). What’s more interesting is that a sender can specify a total amount to be given out with a list of contacts. Then the app will randomly create different “ang pows” values that are distributed randomly like a lucky fortune cookie.

The results were rather astonishing. Just between the eve until 4PM on the first day of Chinese New Year, a total of 75 million virtual ang pows have been transacted across more than 5 million users. It was estimated about 9,412 virtual ang pows per minute have been transacted during the peak holiday season. The biggest winner is WeChat as they have managed to get even more users to link their bank accounts to their WeChat profile. That gives them a bigger base to enable long term micro transactions over its network. The overnight success have sent some shock waves across the industry and even Jack Ma from Ali Baba had compared the virtual Ang Pow phenomenon like a Pearl Harbour attack which came without any warning.

Will mobile phones replace the Chinese New Year tradition of giving? Certainly not for now but who knows in future when there’s little need of carrying physical cash.

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