WeChat 5.0 is finally officially launched! The most attention-grabbing feature, of course, is the implementation of WeChat Pay.
When WeChat was released this morning, many people on Weibo and in their WeChat Moments expressed that the much-rumored WeChat Pay did not appear, with some even suspecting that the payment feature was canceled because it threatened Apple's business – in fact, WeChat Pay was launched as scheduled; it just needs to be linked with specific service accounts for use, and it does not appear in the WeChat entry point.
We tested WeChat Pay in real time using McDonald's and Yinmeitu service accounts that support WeChat Pay, to see what kind of experience WeChat Pay will bring us.
McDonald's
After following and entering the McDonald's official account, click on "Tea & Snack Card" in the custom menu to bring up the payment interface. When using WeChat Pay for the first time, you will be prompted to add your bank card information and set a WeChat Pay password. WeChat Pay only requires binding your bank card once, after which you can pay directly within the official account. After entering the password for payment, you will receive an SMS verification code for secondary confirmation (not required after binding), and after completing the payment, a successful payment information page will appear.
Follow the McDonald's service account and click on Tea & Snack Card
The payment page appears, click "Pay Now"
Your bank card needs to be bound during the first purchase
Fill in the binding information
Set a payment password, preferably different from your withdrawal password
SMS verification code is needed for secondary payment
Successful payment information page
Yinmeitu
WeChat has made us more curious about how it combines QR codes to realize hardware product end payment functions.
Yinmeitu, which we reported on earlier, is the first hardware product that integrates WeChat interaction operations. With this WeChat 5.0 upgrade, it also became one of the first products to support WeChat Pay. In Mansotti Cafe at Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou, we tested the WeChat Pay process.
There are some differences compared to the McDonald's payment process. First-time users need to scan two different QR codes: one is the Yinmeitu WeChat official account QR code, and the other is the WeChat Pay QR code. After scanning the Yinmeitu QR code and following the Yinmeitu service account, users first upload photos (can be multiple), then need to exit the service account interface and enter the scan function in the "Discover" menu to scan the WeChat Pay QR code displayed on the hardware terminal screen, after which they will enter a payment interface. Select the photo(s) to print, confirm, and the payment process is similar to the previous one.
After the payment is completed, the Yinmeitu machine terminal starts working, and soon a printed Lomo photo is obtained.
From the user experience perspective, the process of exiting the WeChat official account to scan the payment QR code is somewhat cumbersome. However, the WeChat team stated that subsequent upgrades will support the scan function within the official account.
After following the official account, upload the picture you want to print
In the "Discover" menu, click "Scan", and scan the QR code on the machine
Select the photo(s) to print and confirm payment
Complete payment
Similar to when WeChat launched the public platform function, WeChat is very cautious about opening up payment features, and there aren't many WeChat official accounts that support payments. Developers told us that WeChat has added the customer service system function for official accounts, and user complaints will be directly fed back to the WeChat team, while being synchronized to merchants at the same time.
From this point of view, WeChat's single-line contact with merchants and users gives reason to speculate that merchants receiving a large number of complaints may therefore be unable to access the WeChat Pay function, which could positively impact WeChat's commercial ecosystem to a certain extent.
What will WeChat Pay bring?
We are optimistic about its payment innovations through QR codes and possibly NFC in the future. For major internet giants, seizing the high ground in payments is crucial for the development of the company and the industrial ecosystem, and for consumers, nothing is more attractive than a safe and convenient payment method.