微信支付牵手line进军日本
Tencent Holdings Ltd is making its WeChat Pay more accessible for Chinese travelers in Japan through a tie-up with popular messaging app Line.
腾讯控股与即时通讯软件Line合作，为去日本的中国游客更方便地使用微信支付。
The cooperation, which was announced on Tuesday, will allow Japanese brick-and-mortar merchants with a Line Pay terminal to process WeChat Pay transactions directly without the inconvenience of currency swaps.
Tencent said in a news release that the partnership can help small and medium-sized local businesses adopt mobile payments at rather low costs because it omits the need to purchase extra QR code scanners.
"The strategic cooperation will allow WeChat Pay to further penetrate into local and daily scenarios and provide Chinese tourists with more in-depth services," said Li Peiku, vicepresident of WeChat Pay.
The strategy is "in line with an upgraded demand from Chinese people to travel like locals, rather than serving Chinese people only at traditional tourism hotspots", said a WeChat Pay spokesperson.
After announcing their tie-up in Tokyo, Hisakuhi Nagafuku, COO of Line Pay, said: "There is almost no reason for Japanese stores not to introduce Line Pay right now," adding that his company will move from domestic payment service to become the No 1 company for inbound payment.