Tencent’s WeChat mobile messaging tool to roll out overseas payment service as competition in cross-border market heats up

Smartphone users in China who communicate, like most people in the country, using Tencent’s WeChat mobile messaging platform will soon be able to pay for purchases made overseas using the app.
They will be able to use WeChat Pay if the app is connected to a Chinese bank or credit card.
In extending its payment services portfolio, the app is taking a cue from Alipay, which runs under e-commerce giant Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Financial. Alipay has already made its mobile payments service available to merchants outside of China.
WeChat has 650 million active users, a whopping 60 per cent of whom now use WeChat Wallet, its payment system. After linking their bank account to the app, they can use their phone to make transactions at Uniqlo, 7-11 and a range of popular stores.
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WeChat Pay is expected to prove a hit among Chinese tourists as they can use it overseas, pay in the Chinese currency and thus eliminate those pesky foreign transactions fees that credit card users pay.