Japan’s LINE Pay Starts WeChat Pay Partnership

Japan’s LINE Pay has announced that it’s been integrating WeChat Pay to be used by participating merchants in the country, according to a press release.

The LINE Pay Corporation, which operates LINE Pay mobile money transfer and a payment service on the LINE messaging app, plans to become the number-one payment service for tourism into the country.

“Once system integration is complete, WeChat Pay users simply scan a Japanese LINE Pay merchant’s QR code to pay with their WeChat Pay balance. Since WeChat Pay is heavily used in China, the service will be particularly convenient for Chinese tourists visiting Japan,” the release said.

Stores and businesses that sign up for LINE Pay will be able to accept NAVER Pay and WeChat Pay as payment options in the LINE Pay Global Alliance, and there won’t be any need for a different registration or screening process.

They will also be able to manage all of the options in a single account.

“Because the global alliance combines the steps to accept multiple payment options into a single, streamlined process, accepting LINE Pay payments from users in Japan and other payment options from international tourists has never been easier,” the release said.

Just like with LINE Pay, participating merchants aren’t going to be charged fees for the acceptance of WeChat Pay payments until July 31, 2021.

The partnership is one-way, for the benefit of WeChat Pay users traveling to Japan, and LINE pay won’t be accepted at WeChat Pay stations in China. The new service will be available through a QR code, and LINE Pay wants to continue to increase users of the service in Japan.

WeChat is one of the most popular payment services in the world, with more than 1.118 billion users.

“This is especially convenient for tourists because they can use their accustomed payment service, and eliminate the hassle of buying yen or using other payment options just for their trip,” the release said.