Alibaba to Accept Tencent’s WeChat Pay on Its E-Commerce Platforms for the First Time

Chinese tech giant Alibaba announced on Wednesday that its core e-commerce platforms, Taobao and Tmall, will now accept payments via Tencent’s WeChat Pay for the first time.

Previously, Alibaba’s platforms only offered a limited range of payment options, heavily promoting its own Alipay service, which is operated by Ant Group, an Alibaba affiliate founded by Jack Ma.

“We have always been open to collaborations and are actively exploring interoperability and partnerships with our peers,” an Alibaba spokesperson told CNBC. “Our goal is to enhance user experience by making shopping more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient.”

Taobao and Tmall are expected to start accepting WeChat Pay payments this month, according to an insider who requested anonymity.

This landmark decision comes as Alibaba seeks to boost growth in its China e-commerce sector, which has faced challenges from a sluggish consumer market and competition from rivals like JD.com and Temu-owner PDD.

Alibaba CEO Eddie Wu has indicated that Taobao and Tmall should return to growth in the latter half of the company’s fiscal year 2025.

With over 1.3 billion global users, the majority of whom are based in China, WeChat Pay is a major mobile payments platform. By integrating WeChat Pay, Alibaba aims to expand its market share, particularly in underdeveloped regions of China.

JD.com, Alibaba’s largest competitor, has long accepted WeChat Pay on its platform.

The move also aligns with recent regulatory pressures in China, which have encouraged tech companies to dismantle their “walled gardens” and improve interoperability. Alibaba and Tencent, two of China’s largest internet firms, have historically restricted access to each other’s services on their platforms.

In recent years, these practices have begun to change under regulatory scrutiny. For instance, in 2021, Tencent allowed users to access external links in one-on-one chats, including links to Alibaba’s Taobao. Similarly, some of Alibaba’s apps began supporting WeChat Pay in the same year.

Last week, China’s market regulator announced that Alibaba had completed a three-year regulatory “rectification” process following an 18.23 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) antitrust fine imposed in 2021.