Tag: tencent

Alibaba and Tencent clash in the mobile payments market

| February 27, 2014

China’s mobile commerce market becomes a battelfield for two large companies

Two of China’s largest companies have entered into a proverbial war over the mobile payments market. Both Alibaba and Tencent have high hopes for the mobile space and have been aggressively establishing a strong presence in the mobile commerce sector. Alibaba has managed to capture a strong lead with its Alipay platform, but Tencent still has a strong connection to Chinese consumers through its WeChat application. Now, the two companies are beginning to fight in the cab-calling services arena.

Cab-calling services receive more attention from Alibaba and Tencentmobile payments

Cab-calling services are becoming somewhat common in China. These services are very straightforward in than consumers can call for a taxi and arrange for transportation. Some services allow users to pay for their taxi directly from a mobile device. This is meant to make it more convenient for consumers that have become more reliant on their smartphones and tablets to pay their cab fare. Alibaba and Tencent have entered into a price war with their respective Kuaidi and Didi applications.

Applications set to compete more aggressively

The two applications offer similar cab-calling services. As such, they have begun intensely competing with one another for consumers that will likely use one over the other for the foreseeable future. Tencent has announced that those using the Didi and WeChat applications will receive a price subsidy on their travels. Alibaba has also announced a similar initiative, claiming that those using the Kuaidi application and paying for their trip with the Alipay platform could receive significant discounts.

Mobile commerce competition continues in China

Competition in the mobile commerce sector is unavoidable for large companies that intend to establish a strong following in the mobile space. Chinese consumers have become enthralled with the concept of mobile payments and new services are becoming available to them at a rapid pace. These services intend to capture their attention and support for years, but few have managed to actually do so. Tencent and Alibaba have managed to attract support from most consumers in the country concerning their mobile initiatives.

Tencent may break into mobile commerce with new app

| February 3, 2014

WeChat hosts new application that seeks to modernize an old tradition

Tencent has launched a new mobile application for WeChat users. WeChat is the most popular messaging application in China, and Tencent has been working on ways to monetize the app for some time. The company has taken a strong interest in mobile commerce and has seen the success that online retailers and digital companies have discovered by engaging mobile consumers. As such, the new application for WeChat users aims to leverage the traditional hongbao.Mobile Commerce - New App

App puts a new twist on the honbao and Chinese New Year

The hongbao is a red envelop or packet that is traditionally given as a gift during Chinese New Year and, in some cases, weddings and typically contain money. As Chinese consumers become more mobile, traditions are beginning to become digitized. Tencent’s new “New Year Red Envelope” application is meant to put a new twist on the hongbao. Using the application, people can send digital red envelopes that contain digital currency. The application can be used for much more than exchanging money, however.

New application could encourage mobile payments through the WeChat platform

WeChat users making use of the application can also allow the application decide how to distributes funds amongst a group of recipients. For instance, if a person sends $50 to eight friends, the application can determine that one friend receives $30 while the others receive a smaller sum. Tencent believes that this creates a sense of suspense among WeChat users and encourages them to spend more money through the new application.

Tencent continues to find ways to monetize WeChat and promote mobile commerce

Consumers have to link their bank accounts to WeChat in order to make use of the new application. Tencent has been working to break into the mobile commerce arena through the WeChat platform and the new hongbao application may be the key to Tencent’s goals. The new application may help encourage users to spend money on WeChat’s in-app payment services by making them more comfortable with the concept of mobile payments and sending money through the use of a mobile device.