WeChat launches mini apps to facilitate yuan payments in Asia

WeChat has launched a new mini app to help Chinese tourists make yuan payments via its wallet function when traveling in Malaysia.

Named WeChat Go, the software can be used so far to pay for services from delivery firm Pos Malaysia, airport rail link KLIA Ekspres, holiday resort operator TripCarte and travel company CatchThatBus, the messaging giant said in a statement yesterday.

The app, operated in tandem with local telecoms provider U Mobile, is WeChat's first of this kind to gain national support out of China. It is available for use in nine of Malaysia's biggest tourism cities, including Sabah, Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi.

WeChat and U Mobile will also launch a mini app named Pavilion KL on Oct. 1, which will allow visitors to the Pavilion Kuala Lumpur shopping mall to make reservations and pay for their purchases.