WeChat banking emerges in China
February 4, 2014 Leave a comment
WeChat banking emerges in China
Staff Reporter
2014-02-02
Several Chinese banks have launched banking services via popular mobile phone app WeChat, as they try to tap into the rapidly changing online business world, the Securities Daily reported.
Launched as an instant messaging smartphone app, Tencent’s WeChat began attracting banks, which have established accounts dedicated to businesses and groups, after introducing payment features, the newspaper said.
Two of the services commonly offered through these banks’ WeChat accounts, the newspaper noted, are a search for branch locations and the ability to make appointments to avoid queues at the bank.
China Everbright Bank’s WeChat service can even recognise a user’s location and send locations of nearby branches to the user’s phone.
WeChat also provides an alternative to the banks’ service hotlines, the newspaper suggested, with some of the banks hiring staff to man the service.
The newspaper found that the bank staff in charge of inquiries from WeChat users referred complex inquiries to their colleagues manning the hotline.
Besides checking their account balance, China Merchant Bank, China Everbright Bank and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank allow their clients who have signed an additional contract to buy financial products through their WeChat accounts.
For people who are not familiar with using apps or even smartphones, these WeChat banking services are just a novelty among the youth, the newspaper said.
One man, surnamed Zheng, told the newspaper that he heard about WeChat from his granddaughter, but he prefers to use traditional banking channels and visit the bank in person.
He noted that the bank staff provides more detail about their financial products when he visited the branch, and being physically present reduces the risk of banking fraud.
In fact, experts pointed out that since payments made through WeChat are only connected to the user’s account on the app, instead of to a bank account, users are at risk if their WeChat accounts are hacked.
Therefore, the experts suggested WeChat users stay alert and avoid clicking on web links in strangers’ messages.
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