Tencent to charge users in China for transferring money from WeChat Wallet to bank accounts
New rule to take effect next month but not expected to apply to Hong Kong; pundits wonder whether it will drive users to migrate to rival Alibaba’s Alipay

Tencent’s popular mobile messaging app WeChat will soon begin charging users in China for money transfers made to personal bank accounts via its built-in digital wallet service.
From March 1, a fee of 0.1 per cent will be levied on digital transfers to bank accounts where the sum exceeds 1,000 yuan (US$153), the company said. The minimum fee per transfer will be 0.1 yuan.
The company is imposing the charge to cover bank handling fees for users’ WeChat Wallet transfers instead of absorbing them itself as it has been doing, it said.
“The transaction fees will encourage users to make fewer withdrawals and thus keep more money circulating within the WeChat Wallet ecosystem, therefore increasing the opportunities for other spending within it,” said Michael Yeo, an analyst at market research firm IDC.