In the race between China’s two leading mobile wallets—Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay—to expand their users and merchants around the world, WeChat Pay is drawing even in Europe.
U.K.-based payments processor SafeCharge has partnered with Tencent’s WeChat enabling in-store payment with WeChat Pay for the first time at stores across Europe, according to a Thursday press release.
The Tencent Holdings Ltd.'s WeChat application icon displayed on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5s is reflected on a surface in an arranged photograph in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 4, 2014. Tencent, the best performer in Hong Kongs benchmark index since its 2004 listing, plans a share split to boost holdings by individuals after earnings missed estimates on higher costs for its WeChat app. Photographer: Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
Brent Lewin/Bloomberg
This helps WeChat gain ground against Alipay, which last year locked up several deals with banks and payments processors enabling its users to make in-store and online purchases from European merchants. In May, Alipay announced a deal to expand acceptance in the U.S. through a partnership with First Data.
WeChat’s 660 million users may now pay online and in stores through merchants integrated with SafeCharge, allowing Chinese tourists visiting Europe to pay in their own or local currency, SafeCharge said in the release.
Chinese air travel to Europe increased by about 20% in 2016, with travelers coming from China to Europe expected to hit 90 million by 2025, the release noted, citing recent data from Counter Intelligence.
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