American in China here. I can answer this: >Do you need someone to verify your ID to get a WeChat account with a wallet? I set this up a while ago but I don't

American in China here. I can answer this: >Do you need someone to verify your ID to get a WeChat account with a wallet? I set this up a while ago but I don't recall an explicit ID checking step. There might be something going on behind the scenes since your wechat account is closely tied to your phone number. >I don't think it would be legal to implement something like that in North America without ID checks and a money transmission license, no? Oh the irony that in this respect China is a libertarian paradise. The PRC isn't as paternalistic. They don't really make laws to stop people from taking personal risks. >What are the fees? Transferring to/from the bank is .05% I think. Transferring wallet to wallet is free. If they are zero, how does WeChat make money on the feature? I think right now the plan is still to run at break-even and/or loss until alipay dies. otoh with a sizeable amount of money sitting in their virtual wallets, tencent can effectively become a bank and do fractional reserve banking. Right now I'm just speculating. >I honestly don't see any innovation here, the tech is dirt simple. Often people on this forum are so concerned with the gears that they've missed the point of the car. End users don't care if the tech is literally built from sticks and stones. IMO there is a great wealth of good business ideas that require very little technical innovation. But programmers don't want to work on something which feels beneath them. >It's just too difficult to do in the US because of the PATRIOT act, greedy banks, and overzealous AML regulations. I agree completely. If the US keeps these arcane laws, other countries will bury us. I'm doing my part to change this situation by voting for..... oh shit.