Tencent sees SEA’s national QR codes as expansion opportunity

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Tencent sees Southeast Asia’s increasingly connected QR payment systems as an opportunity for WeChat Pay, the Chinese tech titan’s mobile payment and e-wallet service.

Speaking to Tech in Asia on the sidelines of this year’s Money 20/20 conference, a Tencent executive said that joining cross-border QR systems could let WeChat Pay – known in China as Weixin Pay – explore interoperability among digital wallets. This could also help the platform better serve tourists traveling to and from China.

“As the infrastructure is being unified, it would be easier for us to eventually help the economy grow on both sides,” said Wenhui Yang, deputy managing director of business development at Tenpay Global, Tencent’s cross-border payments unit.

In 2022, Tenpay Global launched a campaign that connected more than 10,000 merchants at Singapore hawker centers, using SGQR with Weixin Pay. Such initiatives could be replicated across Southeast Asia, according to Yang.

If implemented, a region-wide integration would enable Chinese users to scan Southeast Asia’s national QR codes, while also linking WeChat Pay and other digital wallets in the region. Japan is also exploring a similar move.

Yang acknowledges that Tenpay Global needs to bolster its branding efforts overseas, as China – where WeChat Pay has about 935 million active users – remains the primary focus of its mother company, Tencent.

In cross-border payments, Tenpay Global is falling behind its competitor Alipay+ because of WeChat’s limited use cases abroad, according to an analysis by fintech consulting firm Kapronasia.

In recent months, Alipay+ has expanded aggressively in Southeast Asia and other overseas markets.

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