China-based Tencent has announced its decision to suspend WeChat Pay Malaysia, aiming to centre its focus on catering to the needs of Chinese tourists in the Southeast Asian country. As of 1 August 2024, WeChat Pay Malaysia ceased registering new e-wallet users, with plans to discontinue its local payment services on 11 September 2024, according to a recent statement published by Tencent.

In addition, the company mentions that users should withdraw any remaining funds by the end of 2024. Despite this, WeChat messaging services and the use of its mainland Chinese e-wallet Weixin Pay in Malaysia are set to not be affected. Why did Tencent decide to stop WeChat Pay Malaysia? Being part of Tencent’s alterations to its business strategy in Malaysia, the closure of the local e-wallet intends to see the company focus on RMB-denominated cross-border payments in the country.

Additionally, Tencent intends to support Malaysia-based businesses enter the dynamic market of outbound Chinese tourism by allowing them to receive secure and convenient payments from Chinese visitors via Weixin Pay. Moreover, Tencent’s strategy change for WeChat Pay follows China’s post-COVID-19 pandemic recovery of outbound tourism, as well as Beijing’s efforts to further draw international travellers to the region. The company also intends to expand its coverage, with it announcing in May 2024 that Chinese tourists can leverage the domestic e-wallet Weixin Pay in the Maldives. Currently, WeChat Pay is set to focus on facilitating payments for foreign tourists in China, with Tencent now allowing international users to link their credit or debit cards issued by international operators such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover Global Network, and JCB.

Also, WeChat Pay Malaysia intends to collaborate with Malaysian e-wallets to provide cross-border QR payment interoperability for Malaysian travellers to China.  The current news follows Tencent’s move to simplify WeChat account registration and card linking to Weixin Pay for international visitors to China. The company augmented the payment process by optimising WeChat account registration and international card linking for safety and convenience. Also, Weixin Pay was set to pursue interoperability with additional overseas e-wallets to enrich visitor payment experiences.

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