Tencentโs WeChat Pay set to allow Hong Kong users to pay for purchases on the mainland โSCMP
What happened: WeChat Pay users in Hong Kong may soon be able to make purchases on the mainland. Tencentโs WeChat Pay HK service was previously only available for use in the city as the two payment systemsโone on the mainland and one in Hong Kongโare not interoperable. However, according to sources, an update to this system is set to be announced today (September 26).
Why itโs important: Both Tencent and Alibaba are pushing outside of mainland China to gain additional users. While this has previously focused on allowing Chinese tourists to pay abroad, WeChat has launched a localized version for Hong Kong and more recently, for Malaysia. It will be interesting to see if Alipay follows suit. The company has previously mentioned its desire to offer a similar solution.
