Tencent, the company behind popular social chatting app, WeChat, has applied for a license to enable payment services in Malaysia. If this goes through, Malaysians make payments using their smartphones seamlessly via their linked bank accounts.
WeChat Pay is huge with 1 out of 3 users in China using the platform as a mode of payment. Apart from paying for goods and services, WeChat’s platform is more extensive compared to other mobile payment systems. It offers fund transfers to your contacts, bill payments and even sending virtual red packets during Chinese New Year.
Chinese mobile wallets are expanding beyond its home market in China. A few months ago, Alipay has officially arrived in Malaysia with 7-Eleven as their first supported retailer. CIMB and Maybank is reported to be enabling AliPay wallets in Malaysia. Recently, WeChat Pay has also just entered Europe, making it easier for Chinese tourists to make payments at local shops.
At the moment, Tencent claims to have 600 million active WeChat Pay users in China while Alipay is reported to have 450 million active users. In Malaysia, Tencent claims to have 95% smartphone penetration for WeChat and that should make it easier for users to adopt WeChat Pay once it is officially available.
[ SOURCE ]
