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I am in China right this instant and (like everyone) I have wechat on my phone. Perhaps the services mentioned don't have much use/appeal to expats, but I have
by IIAOPSW 11y ago
I am in China right this instant and (like everyone) I have wechat on my phone. Perhaps the services mentioned don't have much use/appeal to expats, but I have never heard of any of the stuff mentioned in this article. Wechat to me is just a texting app because data is cheaper than texts (thanks China Mobile).
At first I couldn't even find any of the features mentioned. some of the stuff (taxi's, planes) are hidden in some submenu called "bank cards" which I originally thought was for unlocking emoji and stuff. Perhaps I need to run an update, but I can't even find a "sub app store" of 3rd party verified accounts.
- pkkim 11y agoGiven how hard it was for me to do non cash commerce without a Chinese ID card, it's no surprise that you don't use those features. Do you use the app in English? Maybe the English version doesn't even have these features.
- IIAOPSW 11y agoyeah I have it set to English. I don't think there is an English version per se, just different consumer facing text. Commerce shouldn't be too hard. I have a bank account here and my card is Union Pay.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- cheena 11y agoYou will see different content in the WeChat app depending on your phones language. But as of today, the English version has all of these features mentioned. I have used the Taxi feature (滴滴打车）4 times today. I also pay all my utilities and internet bill within WeChat. When I am outside and people want to buy my products, they can scan my WeChat QR code in an instant.
- IIAOPSW 11y agowhere can I learn the details of becoming a verified seller / whatever? I have some side projects that could benefit greatly from this.
- cheena 11y agoWell any individual can accept payments to their phone of course. But to actually have like some kind of store front on WeChat you need a "Public Account" as stated in the article. Companies that are not registered in China can open one no problem, but only people using the English version will be able to see/access your "Public Account". If you want to sell to Chinese people, you will need to register a Company in China. Of course there are ways around this, there always is in China. Really depends on your strategy and what you are selling, some foreigners selling products here, just create a separate regular account to keep their buyers/followers updated on latest news/products, and talk directly on wechat to accept payment. Any questions bartnanka at gmail
- erikb 11y agoIf you read further, adding these "sub apps" is like adding another account. Have you added something like a blogger before on Wechat? I think it works like that. You get the ID and you added like a friend. Then the "chat menu" is just a little different with other features inside. If you find a way I'd really appreciate a little update from you. I'm currently not in China, was also totally unaware of these capabilities, but I think they might be a major thing once uncovered, that Chinese people basically don't tell you about because they think it's common knowledge.
- thaumasiotes 11y ago> Wechat to me is just a texting app because data is cheaper than texts (thanks China Mobile). Well, I used China Unicom, but I noticed something similar. I got a SIM card about two years ago with "no internet plan". It turned out to have data connectivity anyway, so I just used it for that. Every month I'd get messages stating "you have used X amount of data, of which X is in excess of your monthly limit". And yet... I was spending much less money on phone service than even the cheapest official data plan, so I left it that way. Any idea how this sort of situation came about?
- IIAOPSW 11y agoI have no idea. TBH I haven't paid my phone bill in a while. I don't know how I even have phone service.