Tencent Holdings is shutting down WeChat Pay Malaysia, the Chinese technology giant’s six-year old local e-wallet service, as it seeks to shift its focus in the Southeast Asian country to catering to Chinese tourists.
WeChat Pay Malaysia stopped registering new e-wallet users from August 1, and will discontinue its local payment services on September 1 this year, the company said in a statement published on its website.
Users should withdraw their funds by the end of this year, it said, adding that WeChat messaging services and the use of its mainland Chinese e-wallet Weixin Pay in Malaysia remain unaffected.
The closure of Tencent’s Malaysian Ringgit-denominated local e-wallet is part of an adjustment of its business strategy in Malaysia, which will see the company focus on “RMB-denominated cross-border payments” in the country, a WeChat Pay Malaysia spokesperson said in a statement to the Post.
Tencent will aim to help Malaysian businesses tap into the “fast-growing and dynamic market” of outbound Chinese tourism by “enabling them to receive safe, secure, and convenient payments from Chinese visitors through Weixin Pay,” according to the spokesperson.
Ant Group is an affiliate with Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of the Post.
Tencent’s strategy shift for WeChat Pay comes amid China’s post pandemic recovery of outbound tourism and Beijing’s efforts to draw international travellers to China.
WeChat Pay will also double down on facilitating payments for foreign tourists in China, according to the company spokesperson.
WeChat Pay Malaysia is also planning to work with local Malaysian e-wallets to enable cross-border QR payment interoperability for Malaysian travellers to China, the spokesperson said.