Cover image via Travel Daily Media
Alipay will see its biggest competitor entering the Malaysian market next year
Image via Reuters
Reuters reported that Tencent, the company behind instant messaging app WeChat, has obtained an e-payment license for WeChat Pay to operate in Malaysia.
This follows Tencent's announcement in July this year that it applied for a licence in Malaysia.
Users in Malaysia will be able to link their local bank accounts to WeChat Pay and pay for goods and services in ringgit
Image via CNBC
At the time of announcing the application for the license, Grace Yin, director of WeChat Pay explained that the choice of Malaysia as the first overseas market stemming from the fact that "Malaysia has a large Chinese community".
Tencent didn't reveal a clear timeline as to when the service will be launched next year.
Malaysia will be the first country out of China to get the service
Tencent's senior VP S.Y. Lau told Reuters that Tencent had chosen Malaysia because there are 20 million WeChat users and the local market is more welcoming towards Internet products from China.
Lau added that the company is "not in a hurry" to speed up the expansion process as there's still much to be done in China.
Hong Kong is currently the only location outside mainland China where WeChat Pay and Alipay offer the local payment service – for local transactions denominated in Hong Kong dollars.
But it won't be an easy task for Tencent as Alibaba's Alipay, a similar e-wallet service that allows cashless transactions, has made its foray into Malaysia in June this year
Image via CityWeekends
Alipay has partnered with Maybank, CIMB, Genting, and Public Bank to introduce cashless payment via the e-wallet. According to local tech news site SoyaCincau, Alipay is currently available for tourists visiting from China only.
We reckon WeChat Pay will have a smoother roll-out process than its competitor as the service will be integrated into the WeChat messaging app. With 20 million users under its belt, the service will gain traction in no time.
The potential launch of WeChat Pay comes after news of Tencent surpassing Facebook in market value
Tencent has surpassed Facebook in terms of market value just a day after it became the first Asian technology firm to reach the USD500 billion valuation mark, CNN reported.
