For instance, Taobao shop owners can't post direct links of their products in WeChat to attract customers and generate traffic, as Taobao links are not allowed in WeChat. Small business owners, especially ones in e-commerce, find the inconvenience detrimental. It is often frustrating when users cannot seamlessly roam between apps, as links from one platform are often blocked on another, due to digital walled gardens - closed ecosystems in which the operators refuse to share their technology, information, or user data. In a sense, they have become digital nations connected by the internet. Both are prominent in the mobile payment sector - they even have their own credit score system. With 1.2 billion and 1.3 billion users each, WeChat and Alipay both trump most countries in terms of population. An infographic by QuestMobile, summarizing Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu and ByteDance's most prominent apps Nowadays, people in China cannot navigate their lives without using at least one product by Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Baidu, and other big techs you name it - Buying stuff online(Taobao), going to restaurants(WeChat Pay or Alipay), pulling up the COVID-free green code to enter malls (WeChat or Alipay), talking to friends and family (WeChat), communicating with colleagues (DingTalk of Alibaba, WeCom of Tencent, Lark of ByteDance), streaming your favorite TV show (Youku of Alibaba, Tencent Video) - it is near impossible to circumvent products by the big techs in China. With a small team, TechNode provides timely news and thoughtfully researched articles for worldwide readers interested in learning more about the Chinese tech industry.China's walled garden is not yet down, the tunnel warfare goes on and on - PingWest English 中文Ĭhina's walled garden is not yet down, the tunnel warfare goes on and onĪre big techs entitled to gate-keep their traffic? Douyin had also recently launched Dou Fenqi (literally translated as Dou Installments), a feature that allows users to pay their bills in monthly installments, Chinese media reported. The company in October 2019 launched a lending app, providing users with consumer credit, installment payments, and credit card services.The business model, known as livestreaming e-commerce, has seen massive growth in China since 2019. Bytedance is building an e-commerce platform on Douyin around its active livestreaming community.Payments are processed by Ulpay, the Hubei-based firm it acquired in 2018.Ĭontext: An in-house payment tool is essential to many of Bytedance’s offerings, including e-commerce and lending services.Douyin Pay allows users to link cards from 10 banks including Bank of China and China Merchants Bank. The app previously supported WeChat Pay and Alipay.Bytedance said in a statement to TechNode that Douyin Pay was rolled out by the company to “supplement the existing major payment options.” A Bytedance spokesperson said the feature had been available for a while and was previously in test mode.The payment method allows users to buy virtual gifts for livestreamers and pay for goods on the app’s e-commerce platform. Together they hold nearly 95% of China’s online payment market, according to iResearch (in Chinese), a market research firm.ĭetails: Douyin recently added Douyin Pay onto its checkout page, Chinese media reported Tuesday. E-commerce behemoth Alibaba’s Alipay and internet firm Tencent’s WeChat Pay, a feature inside the instant messaging app WeChat, are the two dominant players in the market.The company in September inherited (in Chinese) a payment license from a small payment firm based in the central province of Hubei it acquired two years ago. Bytedance’s ambition to tap into the payment sector have long been hampered by China’s strict finance regulations.Why it matters: Douyin, the domestic version of TikTok, is one of China’s most used apps with 600 million monthly active users as of September. TikTok’s Chinese owner has rolled out an e-wallet feature on its Douyin video-sharing app, a move that could pose a significant threat to the Alipay and WeChat duopoly in China’s mobile payment sector.
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