Unlike overseas internet companies racing to integrate more payment channels and attract broader user bases, domestic internet firms often restrict payment methods out of allegiance to their 'affiliations,' aiming to keep users within their own software ecosystems. For instance, the inability to renew a subscription on certain music apps using Alipay is essentially a direct reflection of how these companies 'carve out territories'.
However, the phenomenon of 'payment isolation' may be broken in the future — a widely circulated document online titled 'Agreement for Activating Online Banking Account' mentioned:
To assist merchants and meet the diverse shopping needs of consumers... Taobao (China)... will open up WeChat Pay as a payment method on the Taobao Special Edition app under specific scenarios.
Although the authenticity of the document still needs verification, the news that 'Taobao Special Edition launched a mini-program and supports WeChat Pay' has sparked intense discussions: Taobao and WeChat have had numerous 'conflicts' in the past. Despite their different business scopes, describing their relationship as antagonistic wouldn't be far off. What kind of 'irresistible conditions' would make one of China’s two leading internet giants 'compromise' to the other, leading to this collaboration?
The 'love-hate relationship' between Taobao and WeChat
To analyze who 'gave in first'? Let’s review the 'love-hate relationship' between Taobao and WeChat over the past few years. In 2013, some users found that they could no longer open Taobao product links in WeChat. If using WeChat’s built-in browser, clicking the link would redirect to the mobile Taobao download page, ...