WeChat Pay now available in Europe, England & Australia
Source: CNBC, TechCrunch, CNet
Chinese internet giant Tencent launched its WeChat Pay payments service in Europe on Monday, challenging rival Alipay, which is owned by rival Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial.
WeChat is a giant social media service that has 938 million monthly active users. Tencent has partnered with German payments firm Wirecard to allow European retailers to accept WeChat pay as a payment option.
The move is specifically aimed at Chinese tourists coming to Europe and is not necessarily a challenger to the likes of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, both of which operate in parts of Europe.
Chinese consumers are very used to using mobile payment services like WeChat Pay for everything from ride-hailing services to shopping. When they go abroad, they want these same services.
"Right now the problem is many Chinese travelers don't have the right payment instruments. For every retailer targeting Chinese customers in the segment of luxury, of travel, of entertainment, this is a must-have payment option," Markus Eichinger, executive vice president of global product strategy at Wirecard, told CNBC in an interview ahead of the launch.
Chinese toursts can open their WeChat wallet feature, show the barcode on their smartphone to the retailer, and the shop assistant will scan the code to activate the payment process.
Additionally, Stripe, another payment platform, is adding support WeChat Pay, making it easier for Chinese customers to buy from Western businesses in Australia, England and more.
If you have any information or questions please leave a comment below.