China Roundup: Alipay, WeChat Pay open up payments ecosystems to UnionPay, and other news

Alipay, WeChat Pay open up payments ecosystems to state-owned UnionPay

• The move comes as the country bolsters its push for tech companies to ease access into their “walled gardens.”
• Ant Group’s offering aims to be compatible with UnionPay’s Cloud QuickPass app by March 2022, which will make the two platforms’ QR codes interoperable to support payments in every city across China.
• Mini programs on WeChat’s platform are also expected to add support for Cloud QuickPass after some time, according to a statement from the Tencent-owned firm. WeChat says that the feature is already being tested across its app.

Showrooms of EV majors Nio, Xpeng sell out in Shanghai

• A spokesperson for a Nio showroom in Shanghai said that the current wait time for its most popular vehicles is now up to almost two months.
• Both companies have also logged record numbers of vehicle deliveries at over 10,000 units each in the last month.
• The deliveries of Nio and Xpeng for September represent year-on-year increases of 126% and 199%, respectively.