WeChat, China’s popular social media and payments app, has added the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) to its payment services, local reports have revealed. This move is expected to help boost the adoption of the digital yuan among users. WeChat now supports the fast payment function of the digital yuan wallet, becoming only the second payment platform after Alipay. The integration of the CBDC into WeChat is expected to provide further impetus for widespread usage of the digital yuan.
The pilot version of the digital yuan application’s “Wallet Quick Payment Management” page now includes 94 merchant platforms, including WeChat. This feature enables users to use the digital yuan for payments on certain WeChat mini-programs and other platforms, such as McDonald’s and bill payment services. As a result, customers can now use WeChat Pay to make payments with the digital yuan.
To successfully activate the WeChat payment wallet fast payment function, users must authorize the digital yuan wallet operator to sync their WeChat-bound mobile phone number. Once approved, payments can be made through the WeChat app to digital yuan-supporting merchants. More integrations are expected to become available in the coming weeks.
Linghao Bao, an analyst at Trivium China, a strategic advisory firm, commented that it would be difficult to encourage Chinese consumers already so heavily invested in WeChat Pay and Alipay to switch to a new mobile payment app. However, he added that it is sensible for the central bank to collaborate with these two instead of creating its own.
The digital yuan, also called e-CNY, is being tested in 26 Chinese provinces and cities. The last Lunar New Year season saw an uptick in digital yuan transactions on Chinese e-commerce platforms, credited to government-issued digital yuan incentives. In December 2022, Alipay joined the networks accepting digital yuan, allowing users to use e-CNY on platforms like Taobao, Shanghai Bus, Ele.me, Youbao, Tmall Supermarket, and Hema.
