Alibaba's eCommerce platforms to accept WeChat Pay

Alibaba's eCommerce platforms to accept WeChat Pay: Key Insights

• Alibaba Embraces WeChat Pay: Taobao and Tmall will start accepting WeChat Pay, breaking down the "walled garden" of China’s eCommerce payment systems.

• Timing Uncertain: Alibaba has informed merchants of the change but hasn't specified when WeChat Pay will be available for users on its platforms.

Alibaba has announced that its platforms, Taobao and Tmall, will now start accepting WeChat Pay. This is a significant move, considering Alibaba is linked to Ant Group (Alipay), which is WeChat's main competitor in the online payments space in China. Meanwhile, Tencent, the company behind WeChat, has invested in other eCommerce platforms like JD.com and PDD Holdings, both rivals of Alibaba. These platforms already support WeChat Pay.

Alibaba & WeChat: When Will It Happen?

Alibaba mentioned that Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG) have informed their merchants about the plan to integrate WeChat Pay. However, they didn't specify when this payment option would be available to users, and they haven’t responded to questions about the timeline.

In its latest quarterly earnings report, Alibaba noted that its share of the domestic eCommerce market remains stable. While their eCommerce revenue in China saw a slight dip of 1%, the number of buyers and the frequency of their purchases have risen significantly.

eCommerce in China Opens Up

China's eCommerce landscape was traditionally set up as a "walled garden," where Tencent's payment system was exclusive to its own platforms, and Alipay was exclusive to Alibaba's. But this separation is starting to break down. Since 2021, WeChat users have been able to share links to Alibaba’s products, although they couldn't finalize transactions using WeChat Pay.