WeChat Pay links its credit score system with car-hailing apps
Photograph: Ihor Dvoretskyi via Unsplash
Now you have more reasons to try out WeChat's mini programs when calling a car. Just before Golden Week, WeChat Pay's credit scoring system WeChat Pay Points began integrating with ride-hailing mini programs to take advantage of the peak holiday travel period, according to TechNode.
Chinese tech media PingWest reports that users with scores above requirements can waive pre-payments when booking a ride. Jisu Dache, a ride-hailing service aggregator is the first mini program to link with WeChat Pay Points, and mini programs for Baidu Map and AutoNavi are in the works as well.
This is not the first time WeChat Pay Points has been put in use. Last November, some apps were integrated with the system – apps like Tencent-backed power bank rental service Xiaodian started waiving deposits for users if their points hit score requirements, according to TechCrunch.
With these waivers seen as perks for consumers, it could increase the number of WeChat mini program users and help WeChat compete against Alipay's Sesame Credit system. Tech in Asia points out that one thing that makes WeChat's credit system different from Alipay's is that users' social connections within the app can influence scores.
While this may sound Orwellian, currently the system only brings benefits to users with high scores rather than punishments to those who have lower scores so we might as well make use of the perks.