Alibaba to roll out Taobao Deals on Tencent's WeChat

This move may have been prompted by a tightening of antitrust regulations.

Alibaba and Tencent are collaborating for the first time, which will see Alibaba’s bargain online shopping platform Taobao Deals offered as a mini-program on Tencent’s multipurpose super app WeChat, IGD has reported.

This means that users of Taobao Deals can now pay for mobile and other online purchases via WeChat Pay. IGD noted that Alibaba has long barred the use of WeChat Pay on its Chinese retail platforms, and transactions on Tencent’s WeChat have also been exclusive to the platform’s own payment service.

This move is belileved to have beem prompted by China’s antitrust regulators, who are in the midst of reeling in web-based monopolies. “As long-time rivals, Alibaba and Tencent typically block each other’s services from their platforms. Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, competes with WeChat Pay with its own app, Alipay,” IGD’s senior retail analyst Jiong-Jiong Yu said.

Tencent will have to approve the listing of any new mini-programs on WeChat. It is not known when Taobao Deals will be included in the platform.