Paysend enters China via Tencent’s Weixin (WeChat)
The partnership with Tencent’s subsidiary Weixin is a major move by Tencent in its quest for international expansion, namely into the Greater China market.
Paysend has partnered with the fintech arm of internet and technology company, Tencent, to allow people to receive money through Weixin – China’s version of WeChat.
Cross-border transfers are made possible via licensed banks in China. Funds reaching the bank account linked to the Weixin application. With five million consumers now on its platform, Paysend is working to increase financial inclusion.
Paysend expands after $125m fundraiser
The partnership with Tencent’s subsidiary Weixin is a major move by Tencent in its quest for international expansion, namely into the Greater China market.
The firm has raised an additional $125 million Series B investment round in May in order to fuel such global expansion. China has become a land of opportunity for the companies that have been able to find their way in, such as Saxo Bank.
Alex Bessonov, group head of network development and strategic partnerships at Paysend, noted: “The meteoric rise of mobile and app-based payments in China has brought convenience to the lives of over one billion people. This partnership with Tencent Financial Technology expands acceptance of Paysend transfers to Weixin users and underlines our ambition to use advanced technology to make payments faster and easier for millions around the world.”
Wenhui Yang, general manager, Tencent Financial Technology Asia Pacific, said: “As customer preferences change. Companies like Paysend provide an easier, more convenient, and lower cost alternative for people to send money to friends and family. Ultimately, our partnership is another step in promoting openness and interoperability among the digital payment industry, thereby increasing convenience for customers who can send and receive money in the way that makes most sense to them.”
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Paysend and its 14,498 percent growth
Deloitte ranked Paysend the third fastest growing technology company in the UK for its 14,498 percent growth, an astonishing figure that is also coupled with the one and a half million customers who have opened an account with the payment services provider in the last six months alone.
Paysend now boasts five million customers across the globe. The majority of these are in Europe, but Paysend is gaining traction in the US, Australia, and Canada.
Ronald Millar, Chief Executive Officer at Paysend, said the firm’s ambition is to be a truly global payments business, but the approach is country by country. Strategic partnerships are the way to go, according to Millar as going it alone would take too long, such as the US.
“To be regulated in the US, you need to be regulated in 50 separate states. That’s not an easy process. It would take us two years to do it on our own so, in the meantime, we have found ourselves a partner to give us that speed to market. We’re copying that strategy in Latin America too.”
