From Uber to Alibaba and Airbnb, the spectacular growth of platforms has caused a major disruption to how business is conducted. While WeChat is a great example of what is known as a platform business and is not a direct competitor to ING, it is part of wider trend that coincides with the digitalisation of business. Significantly, over half of WeChat’s users have been persuaded to link their bank accounts to the app, something that Western products have not yet been able to do. One of WeChat’s more impressive achievements is that it has allowed Chinese consumers to navigate their day without handing over cash or pulling out plastic. Moves are underway to expand WeChat’s e-commerce and payment services for brands in Europe and introduce an international payment service that means Chinese tourists will have the option of using WeChat Pay in European stores. In China, as Mila quickly found out, they don’t ask for a business card, but exchange WeChat ID’s.īut it’s not just China that Tencent has its eyes on. Owner Tencent have developed WeChat as a business tool with more than 20 million office workers able to apply for leave, seek reimbursement of expenses and check the progress of a project. Importantly, the juggernaut that is WeChat, doesn’t look like it’s slowing down. WeChat, while fundamentally a messaging app, serves many of the functions that Western platforms such as Facebook, Skype, Uber, Expedia, Amazon, Spotify, PayPal, and Tinder can only provide individually. It’s a platform that has given Silicon Valley firms, among others including ING, plenty to think about. With users of all ages and demographics spending around one-third of their mobile internet use a day on WeChat, it’s not hyperbole to describe the app as a phenomenon. "Whether I liked it or not, I had to use it (WeChat) to communicate" Tweet thisĭong and Mila’s experiences with WeChat are not dissimilar to the app’s 800-odd million other daily operators. “It’s only one app, but it covers everything. Mila quickly became an aficionado using the app to send documents, make payments, chat, call, video call, get news updates, upload pictures and even get passwords to enter parties or clubs! Although China is massive, I would never get lost in China because of WeChat.” And when I wanted to meet a friend and couldn’t find her, I used a feature that could see where I was and guide me. “Whether I liked it or not, I had to use it to communicate. Even promotions from restaurants… I quickly found out that WeChat was a necessity in China.” Every time I networked with local people they always asked me for my WeChat ID. “University teachers all sent documents from lectures via WeChat. There is no other app that is as widely used by all my friends.”Īnother user, Mila Anisa, 20, originally from Indonesia but now based in the Netherlands, was forced to use WeChat out of necessity when studying in Shanghai. “Honestly, I have no idea how many times I use it each day because it is integrated into my life. I also follow the official accounts of other companies that are in the same industry as mine.” “I use it to order food, call a taxi, buy movies and train tickets and pay my utility bills. “I use it from morning to night, mainly the chat and payment functions, but also to see how my friends are doing.” “WeChat is in all parts of my life,” explained Dong. WeChat, or Weixin in Mandarin, is a social media app that has been so successful in China that it is difficult to live without it. But that hasn’t stopped him from doing what close to a billion people in China do every day, and that’s use WeChat.ĭong Jian buys apples from a store in Beijing Born before the widespread adoption of digital technology, he’s little old for that. Dong Jian, 30, isn’t someone that marketing people would call a digital native.
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