According to Reuters, the initiative comes to supplement the existing major payment options, and enhance user experience, as the company plans to expand into the ecommerce business in China. Users of Douyin previously could use Ant Group’s Alipay and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat Pay to buy virtual gifts for livestreamers or items from shops on the platform.
ByteDance’s expansion comes as China’s financial regulators are tightening oversight over financial technology firms, particularly companies such as Ant Group. However, China’s third-party payment sector is dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay, with the former taking 55.39% of the total market in the second quarter of 2020, according to market researcher Analysys.
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