WeChat and Uber team up to offer seamless overseas ride-hailing for Chinese travellers
Tencent highlights the convenience of not having to download a stand-alone Uber app to hail rides overseas
Chinese social media giant Tencent Holdings has joined US-based ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies to provide a seamless way for Chinese globetrotters to hail rides overseas.
In a statement on Monday, Shenzhen-based Tencent said it integrated Uber into its messaging-to-payment super app WeChat, so that users can book trips in nine more countries and regions, including the US, UK, France and Australia.
Mainland Chinese users of WeChat can already hail Uber rides in Hong Kong and Japan by tapping the Uber mini-programme inside the all-purpose app.
Tencent highlighted the convenience of not having to download a stand-alone Uber app to hail rides overseas. Instead, WeChat users can rely on the familiar Mandarin user interface and pay with WeChat Pay or WeChat Pay HK, the Hong Kong version of the mobile payment service, instead of using cash or credit cards.
The tie-up would help to enrich WeChat’s functions, serve Chinese travellers when they are abroad, and also give Uber access to WeChat’s vast user base.
With over 1.3 billion monthly active users, the 13-year-old WeChat – known as Weixin in mainland China – has become an integral part of digital daily life in the world’s second-largest economy.