No longer just for chatting, WeChat will soon become a financial service platform

An investment system will be implemented into WeChat later this month

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WeChat users use the app to buy items from a vending machine in Beijing. WeChat's e-commerce capabilities have expanded the past year. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Published: 7:45pm, 2 Dec 2013Updated: 7:57pm, 2 Dec 2013

WeChat has already met success in China as the country’s most popular mobile messaging app, but the Tencent-owned service will soon expand its reach beyond the realm of smartphone communication to become a financial service platform.

A savings investment system will be implemented into WeChat in mid-December, Yicai reported. This system will allow users to link their bank cards to their WeChat accounts, enabling them to deposit money through TenPay, Tencant’s payment system.

After depositing money, users will then be able to manage their funds directly through the WeChat software, make purchases at supported retailers and automatically recharge their mobile plans via the deposits in their accounts.

The savings platform compliments WeChat's already-existing online payment capabilities and is similar to other e-wallet services such as Paypal.

Chinese internet mainstays Biadu and Alibaba also have financial service platforms, respectively named Baifa and Yuebao, but neither command the 300 million active users that WeChat already enjoys.

Yi Huan Huan, deputy director of Beijing firm Hongyuan Securities, told Yicai reporters that WeChat’s large user base would help Tencant vie against its competitors to make inroads into the financial service market.