Wechat is one of the very popular social media in the Chinese community. With over 1 billion active users in the app, it presents an unprecedented opportunity for brands to reach out to the Chinese community. While WeChat being the most social platform in China, WeChat Pay is also commonly used in China to pay for bills. WeChat Pay can be used in convenience stores, taxis, hotels, restaurants, markets and even online stores. The Chinese are really getting used to cashless or cardless payments today.
However, there are stringent and complex requirements for businesses to get onto WeChat Pay, especially foreign business. Here we are to share tips on how foreign businesses are able to establish a presence on WeChat Pay and leverage the largest payment system in China. There are two options we will discuss below:
Setup via Tencent-authorized WeChat Pay service providers
Setup via Tencent directly
Option 1: Tencent-authorized WeChat Pay service providers
WeChat Pay has partnered with authorized payment agencies to help brands in different countries set up cross-border payments on WeChat Pay.
It usually takes 1-2 weeks time to set up your WeChat Pay account through an authorized WeChat partner.
There are flexible refund options, for example, you will be able to refund an order made within the past month. The cash-out amount refers to when WeChat will transfer funds to your bank account. The service provider will charge a small fee, usually, it’s a 2-3%, on top of the WeChat Pay transaction fees.
Option 2: Contact Tencent directly
Brands can set up WeChat Pay directly through Tencent on the WeChat Pay website. Any payments you receive will settle directly from Tencent’s bank account to your company account.
It usually takes around 2-4 months to set up your WeChat Pay account through Tencent directly.
The refund options are limited; you will only be able to provide a refund if the amount of the incoming transactions on that day is greater than the refund amount.
The minimum cash-out amount is USD $800. WeChat Pay will take 1-2% commission on all transactions.
Application Requirements
Regardless of whether you’re setting up WeChat Pay through option 1 or 2, there are several requirements you must meet and documents you must provide:
Business registration certificate
Financial license
Anti-money laundering agreement
Identification documentation of all directors
Primary business contacts and legal representatives
All businesses must comply with all the applicable laws and in accordance with WeChat Pay requirements.
WeChat Pay has become a part of daily life in China. With WeChat Pay enabled on the vast majority of mobile phones in China, users make payments anytime, anywhere. A physical wallet with cash and cards is not only no longer required, it is quickly becoming a relic of the past.
In China, WeChat Pay is supported virtually everywhere, including taxis, supermarkets, websites, convenience stores, and hospitals.
How does WeChat Pay work for your business?
Quick Pay
For point-of-sale transactions, a user will open his/her phone to show his/her barcode or QR Code on WeChat’s Quick Pay page for the vendor to scan and deduct the payment amount from the user’s WeChat Pay wallet. This mode is applicable for in-store payments.
QR Code Payments
The vendor will generate a QR Code according to the WeChat Payment Protocol, and the user will scan the QR code to complete payment. This mode is applicable for website, in-store, and media/advertising payments.
In-App Payments
In-app payment is also referred to as mobile-based payment, and it’s when the vendor opens the SDK function integrated into the mobile WeChat app to allow users to pay for transactions.
In-App Web-Based Payments
For this type of transaction, the user opens the vendor’s HTML5 pages through the WeChat app and uses the JSAPI interface to pay.