For the first time, e-commerce apps will accept payments through Tencent's WeChat Pay, as announced by Alibaba.

• Alibaba announced on Wednesday that its Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms will accept payments through Tencent's WeChat app for the first time.
• Alibaba's Chinese e-commerce sites initially only accepted limited payment options and heavily promoted Alipay as a primary payment method.
• It is reported that Taobao and Tmall are likely to start accepting payments through WeChat Pay this month, according to a source who requested anonymity.

Alipay, the payment platform owned by Chinese tech giant Ant Financial, has been integrated with Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms for the first time, allowing users to make payments through the WeChat app.

Alibaba's Chinese e-commerce sites initially only accepted limited payment options and promoted Alipay, a rival to WeChat Pay, as one of the primary payment methods. Alipay is managed by Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba that was also founded by Jack Ma.

"An Alibaba spokesperson stated to CNBC that the company has always been open to collaborations and has actively explored interoperability and partnerships with peers. The company is constantly working to improve user experience by making shopping more convenient, enjoyable, and efficient."

It is reported that Taobao and Tmall are likely to start accepting payments through WeChat Pay this month, according to a source who requested anonymity.

Alibaba is making a historic move to revitalize its China e-commerce business, which has been affected by a slow Chinese consumer market and competition from companies like JD.com and Temu.

Eddie Wu, CEO of Alibaba, has stated that the Taobao and Tmall business should experience growth in the latter half of the company's fiscal year 2025.

In China, WeChat Pay is one of the largest mobile payment apps, with more than 1.3 billion users globally.

Alibaba could increase its market share in less developed parts of China by enabling users to transact through WeChat Pay on Taobao and Tmall, according to a source.

JD.com, the company's biggest rival, has long allowed WeChat Pay to be used on its platform.

Beijing has been putting regulatory pressure on Chinese technology companies to open up their "walled gardens" and allow competitors' products.

Two of China's largest internet companies, Alibaba and Tencent, have built dominance through their extensive services, which often center around their super apps. This prominence led to a situation where rivals would not allow access to each other's services on their respective platforms for a long time.

Over the past few years, tech giants have started to change their practices in response to criticism from regulators. In 2021, Tencent introduced a new feature that allows users to access external links in one-on-one chats. For instance, if someone shared a link from Alibaba's Taobao in WeChat, a user could open that link without leaving the messaging app. Additionally, some of Alibaba's other apps began supporting WeChat Pay in the same year.

In 2021, Alibaba was fined 18.23 billion yuan ($2.6 billion) by China's market regulator, and the company has now completed a three-year regulatory "rectification" process.