Taobao Announces Addition of WeChat Pay

To enhance the shopping experience for consumers, Taobao has announced plans to add WeChat Pay as a payment option. According to the announcement, the platform has updated its rules to reflect this change, standardizing terms such as "payment institution," "payment account," "payment account balance," and "order transaction amount."

Current Status of WeChat Pay Rollout

A journalist from Zhengguan News reported that, as of now, Alipay remains the "preferred" payment option on the checkout page. However, some merchants have already enabled WeChat Pay. Notably, to use WeChat Pay, users must click on "Change" on the payment page, select "WeChat Pay" from the payment options, and proceed with payment.

In response, Taobao’s customer service stated that consumers do not need to manually activate WeChat Pay. Once the WeChat Pay functionality is fully enabled by merchants on the platform, it will automatically become available to users. For now, consumers should refer to the payment page for options. A representative from one Taobao merchant mentioned that merchants are being invited to enable WeChat Pay in batches, but there is no specific timeline for full activation.

Response from Taobao and Tmall

Previously, Taobao and Tmall issued an announcement stating that the WeChat Pay option will be made available to all Taobao and Tmall merchants. Once fully launched, merchants who have enabled the feature will display WeChat Pay as a payment option directly on their checkout pages. Users will also be able to use WeChat Pay directly within the Taobao and Tmall apps. Taobao and Tmall reaffirmed their commitment to open collaboration with other platforms, continuously enhancing the shopping experience to make it more convenient and enjoyable for consumers.

WeChat Pay also responded, stating that they are in the process of adapting their systems for integration with Taobao merchants. The specific launch date will be announced by Taobao. WeChat Pay emphasized their openness to collaboration across various sectors, ensuring secure transactions while providing users with greater convenience.

Alipay’s Response

As Taobao’s primary payment service provider, Alipay also quickly responded, saying, “Openness leads to a greater future.” Alipay underscored that openness, collaboration, innovation, and sharing are the core principles of the internet and the trends driving industry growth. Alipay will continue to deepen its strategic cooperation with the Tao-Tian Group, fostering technological and product innovation to deliver greater value to merchants and consumers.

Industry Perspectives

Industry insiders believe that Taobao’s move to fully integrate WeChat Pay signals a shift towards more open ecosystems among tech giants, resulting in a win-win situation for all parties. The e-commerce landscape has been evolving rapidly in recent years, and Tao-Tian Group, after years of development, needs to innovate. Meanwhile, WeChat Pay, as a widely used payment tool in China, offers a valuable opportunity for mutual benefit through this collaboration.

While Taobao is bringing in more payment options, Alipay remains the default payment platform. In the future, Alipay will continue to provide services to Taobao and expand its openness in internet technologies and AI-driven products. This will contribute to the growth of the digital economy and open up more commercial opportunities for the Alipay platform.

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