Line Pay Corp., operator of the Japanese messaging app’s mobile money transfer and payment services, announced that its merchants have been integrating Chinese competitor WeChat Pay since August 9 of this year.
Photo credit: Line
With the integration, WeChat Pay users will be able to scan Japanese Line Pay merchant QR codes to pay with their WeChat Pay balance, according to a statement.
Stores and businesses signing up for Line Pay will also now be able to accept Naver Pay and WeChat Pay as additional payment options, as well as combine and manage payments made through any of the options in a single account.
Line Pay said that it hopes to boost mobile payments for its partner merchants in Japan by making access easy for international tourists. According to a statement by Line, there are 8.38 million annual tourists from China to become potential customers for Line Pay merchants in Japan. As of July 2019, WeChat has a little over 1 billion users on its platform.
In late 2015, WeChat extended its cashless payments services to serve Chinese tourists overseas. With the move, WeChat added support for the US dollar, British pound, Hong Kong dollar, Japanese yen, Canadian dollar, Australian dollar, Euro, New Zealand dollar, and Korean won.
Editing by Eileen C. Ang
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