Source: Securities Times.

Author: Chen Yukang

On September 27th, Taobao announced that it now supports multiple payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. To experience this, update the app to the latest version. Earlier this month, Taobao and Tmall officially announced the addition of WeChat Pay capabilities after lifting a previous restriction.

Chen Li Teng, a digital life analyst at the E-commerce Research Center of WJS, stated in an interview with Securities Times reporters, $BABA-W (09988.HK)$ Taobao fully supports $TENCENT (00700.HK)$ WeChat Pay, which means that the Internet industry is further opening up and interconnected in the payment field. For Taobao, in the fiercely competitive e-commerce market, providing more payment methods can enhance its competitiveness. In addition, WeChat Pay has a higher penetration rate than Alipay in some regions. Introducing WeChat Pay on Taobao helps to further develop the markets in these regions, attracting more users.

For WeChat Pay, the huge user base and transaction volume of Taobao will provide more application scenarios for WeChat Pay. This cooperation may also be the starting point for further deepening cooperation between WeChat Pay and Alibaba in the future.$Alibaba (BABA.US)$"This collaboration is likely to be the starting point for further deepening cooperation between the two parties, and they may expand cooperation into more areas in the future," said Chen Liteng.

On September 5th, Taobao and Tmall separately announced the addition of WeChat Pay capabilities in notices to enhance consumer shopping experiences. The plan is to gradually open up WeChat Pay capabilities to all sellers (merchants) seven days after the announcement, effective from September 12, 2024.

Based on the increased services mentioned above, Taobao has updated its platform rules, with the main changes being the standardization of terms related to payment service providers to 'payment institutions', 'payment accounts', 'payment account balances', and 'order transaction amounts'.

On September 4th, Taobao announced that it plans to add WeChat Pay capabilities to enhance consumer shopping experiences. The platform rules adjustment will cover all Taobao and Tmall merchants after the end of the consultation period.

In response, Taobao and Tmall expressed that they always adhere to an open cooperation principle, actively explore interoperability with various platforms, continuously enhance consumer shopping experiences to make shopping more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient for consumers.

Tencent stated that WeChat Pay has always adhered to an open cooperation principle, actively exploring interoperability with various industries. Previously, WeChat Pay has collaborated with UnionPay Cloud Flash Pay, JD Pay, payment platforms under the three major telecom operators, digital RMB, and will continue to explore, providing convenience for users while ensuring transaction security.

记者注意到，此次淘宝、天猫引入微信支付，意味着阿里巴巴和腾讯两大互联互通进一步迈向实质，更是互联网“大拆墙”的标志性事件。

多年来，监管部门数次提出，要让互联网真正回归“互联”。2021年9月，工信部有关业务部门召开了“屏蔽网址链接问题行政指导会”。会上，工信部提出有关即时通信软件的合规标准，要求限期内各平台必须按标准解除屏蔽，否则将依法采取处置措施。包括 $BABA-W (09988.HK)$Please use your Futubull account to access the feature.$TENCENT (00700.HK)$ 、字节跳动、$Baidu (BIDU.US)$、华为等在内的企业参加会议。

At the press conference held in the same year and month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology further stated that it has taken various forms such as administrative guidance meetings to help companies realize that interoperability is the inevitable choice for the high-quality development of the internet industry, and enabling users to use the internet smoothly and safely is also the industry's effort. At the same time, it also requires companies to pragmatically promote the immediate communication blocking of website links and other types of issues according to the rectification requirements, which can be solved step by step and in stages.

Chen Liteng stated that in recent years, at the national level, the requirements for openness between internet platforms have been continuously strengthened, and interoperability in the payment field has become the general trend. The accelerated interoperability among giants will break the existing market barriers, allowing more competitors to enter the market and promote the rational allocation and effective utilization of market resources.

Editor/Rocky