Alibaba to allow Tencent’s WeChat Pay for Taobao and Tmall purchases in landmark deal

Alibaba is soliciting feedback from merchants about accepting China’s second-largest mobile payments network on the country’s largest e-commerce sites.

Reading Time:3 minutes

A landmark deal between Alibaba and Tencent will finally bring WeChat Pay to Taobao and Tmall, which have largely been limited to Alipay. Photo: Shutterstock

Ann Caoin ShanghaiandWency Chenin Shanghai

Published: 4:52pm, 4 Sep 2024Updated: 7:49pm, 4 Sep 2024

Alibaba Group Holding has announced that China’s largest online marketplaces, Taobao and Tmall, will soon accept Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay for purchases in a landmark cooperation deal that had long separated the ecosystems of the country’s biggest technology firms.

Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall issued notices on their platforms on Wednesday to solicit feedback from merchants about accepting WeChat Pay, known as Weixin Pay in China, as an additional payment method, paving the way for Chinese consumers to use the country’s second-largest mobile payment system on the popular e-commerce sites, in addition to Alipay, the system run by Alibaba fintech affiliate Ant Group.

The announcement, which marks the biggest move yet in tearing down the walls between the two companies’ platforms, comes days after China’s market regulator ended its antitrust review of Alibaba, giving it full recognition years after its US$2.8 billion fine in 2021. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall Group said in a statement that it has “actively explored interoperability and partnerships with our peers”, while Tencent said its Weixin Pay “is always open to working with partners to offer convenient, compliant and secure transactions for consumers”.

Alibaba’s Taobao and Tmall are two of China’s largest e-commerce platforms, where payments had previously been largely limited to Alipay. Photo: Shutterstock

“Openness, collaboration, innovation, and sharing are fundamental principles of the internet and the driving force behind the industry’s growth,” Alipay said in a statement following the announcement. “In addition to payment products, Alipay will further expand open cooperation in broader ecosystems such as internet technology and [artificial intelligence], creating more business opportunities.”