Alibaba merchants hail adoption of Tencent’s WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall

Many hope that the move could lure more consumers from rival platforms that already accept a variety of payment methods

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Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall will start making WeChat Pay available for merchants next week. Photo: Shutterstock

Ann Caoin Shanghai

Published: 7:00am, 6 Sep 2024

Alibaba Group Holding’s plan to finally accept Tencent Holding’s WeChat Pay for purchases on its online marketplaces Taobao and Tmall is expected to help the e-commerce giant attract older consumers, as well as shoppers in lower-tier cities, according to merchants and analysts.

Following Alibaba’s announcement to incorporate WeChat Pay, known locally as Weixin Pay, as an additional payment method to its domestic shopping platforms, e-commerce unit Taobao and Tmall Group said the payment option will gradually be made available for all merchants from next Thursday.

Chinese merchants have expressed excitement about the latest partnership between the country’s largest online marketplaces and its second-largest mobile payment service. Many hope that the move could expand their consumer base in a highly-competitive market.

Lauren Huang, who has been running a store on Taobao since 2018, called the deal “one of the biggest good news this year” for merchants. “A large percentage of middle-aged and elderly users prefer using WeChat Pay, so its addition will lure more users here from Pinduoduo,” she said, referring to PDD Holdings’ rival e-commerce app.

This could be especially important for Alibaba, as it has been ceding market share to PDD, which has gained ground among budget-conscious consumers. Pinduoduo has long incorporated both WeChat Pay and Ant Group’s Alipay, which together control 90 per cent of the market in China.

Ant is the fintech affiliate of Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post.