📱 Alibaba to allow WeChat Pay on Taobao
Alibaba, China's e-commerce giant, announced that its platforms, Taobao and Tmall, will soon accept WeChat Pay as a payment option. This marks a significant shift in China's online payment landscape, where Alipay and WeChat Pay have been longtime rivals. Alibaba has been closely tied to Ant Group, the parent of Alipay, while Tencent, which owns WeChat Pay, has historically invested in Alibaba’s competitors like JD.com and PDD Holdings.
🛒 Breaking down the "walled garden"
Previously, China’s e-commerce ecosystem was split, with users only able to use WeChat Pay on Tencent-related platforms and Alipay on Alibaba's. The integration of WeChat Pay into Alibaba’s platforms further breaks this barrier. In 2021, WeChat users gained the ability to share Alibaba links, but they still couldn't use WeChat Pay for transactions—until now.
📊 E-commerce growth despite revenue dip
Alibaba’s e-commerce arm reported a 1% revenue drop in its latest earnings. However, order growth surged, thanks to increased purchase frequency and new buyers. This move to include WeChat Pay is expected to further stabilize Alibaba's domestic market share, which it noted had "stabilized" in recent months, despite a competitive environment.
💡 A sign of strategic collaboration?
While Alibaba did not reveal the exact timeline for the rollout, its decision to allow WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall could signal a new level of cooperation between China’s two tech giants. JD.com and Pinduoduo, both competitors to Alibaba, already offer WeChat Pay, so this integration may help Alibaba remain competitive in the growing e-commerce market.
Will Alibaba and Tencent cooperate more in the future?
