The popular Chinese messaging app WeChat is expanding its online payments system WeChat Pay internationally.
Chinese WeChat Pay users will now be able to pay in Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen, Korean won, US dollars, Canadian dollars, British pounds, Australian dollars and New Zealand dollars. The amounts will be converted into Chinese yuan and then deducted from the user's account.
It is not clear how many international businesses are currently supporting WeChat Pay in their stores.
With Chinese tourists being famous for their holiday spending, however, savvy shop owners will be turning to the payment method as an extra way to encourage them to shop in their stores. Chinese tourists are expected to spend around 230 billion US dollars abroad while on holiday this year.
WeChat is one of the most popular social apps in China, with around 650 million monthly active users.Â
