Alibaba's Taobao And Tmall To Accept WeChat Pay

(RTTNews) - Chinese tech giant Alibaba (BABA) announced on Wednesday that its e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall, will now accept payments through Tencent's WeChat app.

Previously, Alibaba's Chinese e-commerce sites offered limited payment options and primarily encouraged the use of Alipay, managed by Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate also founded by Jack Ma. Alipay is the main competitor to WeChat Pay, one of China's largest mobile payment apps, with over 1.3 billion users globally, most of whom are in China.

"We have always been open to collaborations and have actively explored interoperability and partnerships with our peers," an Alibaba spokesperson told CNBC. "We are constantly working to enhance the user experience by making shopping more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient."

Taobao and Tmall are expected to start accepting WeChat Pay this month.

Tencent, which has been a major investor in other e-commerce platforms such as Alibaba's rivals JD.com and PDD Holdings, already offers WeChat Pay on both JD.com and Pinduoduo.

According to Alibaba, Taobao and Tmall Group (TTG) have notified merchants about the draft plan to include WeChat Pay as a payment option. However, it remains unclear how quickly the rollout will be completed.