WeChat Pay Coming to the US
By Bridget O'Donnell
WeChat is teaming up with a Silicon Valley startup to bring its payment system to the United States.
The Tencent-owned company will partner with mobile payment firm Citcon to bring its services to the American market, China Daily reports.
The service makes it easier for users to make payments in renminbi without actual cash on hand. That will no doubt be welcome news to Chinese toursits visiting the United States, said to number 3.1 million in 2014.
Chuck Huang, CEO of Citcon, welcomed the partnership, saying:
"Last year, over 100 million Chinese people traveled outside of China. Once they see this place can accept WeChat Pay, they can use their mobile phones. They certainly receive much warmer welcomes from foreign countries."
WeChat Pay is currently available in 15 countries and regions, covering payments in 12 different currencies. As many as 300 million cards are believed to be attached to the service.
WeChat is the world's largest mobile messaging and social media platform with more than 846 million users signed up through the end of 2016.
As People's Daily notes, WeChat Pay and competitor Alipay already have presence in dozens of markets, including Japan, Finland, Singapore, Thailand, France, South Korea and India.
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