Accept WeChat payments: The simple guide

Key takeaways

• With well over one billion monthly users, WeChat is used by ~12% of the world. Accepting its payment feature – WeChat Pay – at your checkout is only logical.

• The easiest way to bring WeChat payments to your business is with a payment gateway, especially one that can offer multi-currency accounts and transparent pricing.

• Airwallex supports WeChat Pay, as well as the financial infrastructure for building your business’ global presence – like 20+ currency accounts, low-cost FX and cross-border payments, and multi-currency spend and expense management.

In a 12 month period, an amazing 85% of online payment users in China will use WeChat Pay. That’s almost twice the popularity of the next most-popular method.¹ If your business has a presence or aspirations in China, then accepting digital wallets like WeChat Pay is one of the first places you should start.

In this article, we explain how to start accepting payments via WeChat Pay, the challenges to watch out for, and some nuances of the process that will make your integration more successful.

Ways to accept WeChat Pay payments

By far the most straightforward way to accept WeChat Pay payments is with a third-party payment gateway. In the unlikely event that you could create a direct integration with WeChat, it’d cost you more time, money, and effort than it’s worth – apart from the most extreme cases.

Once you’ve picked a payment gateway that supports WeChat Pay, you’ll have several options for introducing it to your customers:

• In-store:

  • Using your point of sale terminal

  • Displayed as a QR code

• At checkout:

  • Hosted page

  • Drop-in element

  • eCommerce plugin

  • Custom solution built on API and SDK

• Via payment link or integrated into an invoice

Which one (or combination) you choose will be down to your business and customers. You might like to start with one option, then add the others after a period of initial stress-testing.

Using Airwallex to accept WeChat Pay payments

WeChat Pay is one of 160+ payment methods you can accept with Airwallex. As well as being able to process WeChat Pay payments in three currencies (EUR, GBP, CNY), you get much more from Airwallex.

We built our payment gateway to empower businesses to move money across borders without high costs or unnecessary friction. An Airwallex account gives you all the financial infrastructure you need to grow globally, from multi-currency company cards to low-cost international transfers and FX.

To grow globally, you need to be in control of how, when, and what money moves across borders. If you’re planning on scaling in China or the wider APAC region, you can use our Global Account to get local bank account details in China, Indonesia, Singapore, and elsewhere.

How accepting WeChat Pay payments works

When you accept a payment with WeChat Pay, this process happens:

1. Your customer makes a purchase with WeChat Pay as their payment method.

2. Your gateway (e.g. Airwallex) sends the information to the payment processor. The processor gets an authorisation from the card network and the card network routes the payment to your customer’s bank.

3. The customer’s bank checks their identity and account balance, to make sure the payment can be made. Once that’s done, the bank approves or declines the payment.

4. The decision gets passed all the way back down the line until you get notification that the payment was approved. The funds get moved from your customer’s bank to your merchant account, minus any fees along the way.

Your usual order confirmation process follows (e.g. confirmation and shipping updates).

When you can access your funds from WeChat Pay payments is decided by your payment gateway and merchant account. With Airwallex, both are integrated – this means we can offer daily settlements (with a threshold of $800).

Learn more about how WeChat Pay works with Airwallex.

What UK businesses need to accept WeChat Pay in 2026

There will be some specifics that depend on factors like your industry and payment volumes, but, broadly speaking, you should expect to need:

• A payment gateway that supports WeChat Pay.

• To complete your gateway and WeChat’s onboarding processes and pass their security checks (e.g. Know Your Customer and Anti-Money Laundering).

• Have the correct merchant and currency accounts to receive settled payments. For example, Airwallex lets you settle WeChat Pay payments as GBP or EUR.

• Integration with your accounting software, so you can record all foreign currency transactions and maintain accurate records for tax and compliance reporting.

What is WeChat Pay and who uses it?

WeChat is an ‘everything’ app, encompassing messaging, commerce, social media, health data, and more. WeChat Pay is its digital wallet. It’s practically universal across China, but also counts millions of users across Asia and North and South America.

Official data is hard to find, but different sources estimate that WeChat processes between 20.8 trillion RMB (US$3 trillion) and 104 trillion RMB (US$15 trillion) per year. ^{2 3}

Due to its prevalence in China, there’s not a demographic split to highlight with WeChat. Practically everybody uses it, from grandparents in rural villages to CEOs in Beijing.

Why accepting WeChat Pay payments matters for businesses

Integrating WeChat Pay into your checkout flow gives you several strategic advantages. In giving your customers the choice of paying with WeChat, you are:

• Meeting your customers with their preferred way to pay.

• Optimising for mobile-first browsing, shopping, and conversion.

• Sending trust signals by offering one of the ‘default’ local payment methods.

• Creating a more globalised checkout experience, extending far beyond China.

Accepting WeChat payments is part of a bigger picture: You’re priming your business for success in new or growing markets.

Common challenges when accepting WeChat Pay

You’ll know the unique challenges your business faces, but some challenges are more universal. We’ve identified four common hurdles many businesses encounter when adding WeChat Pay to their stores.

Not truly localising your site and products

Adding WeChat Pay to your checkout is a good start, but there’s more you can do.

Translating your site (either with an on-page toggle or directing to a separate domain) will create a more immersive shopping experience. You can also use automatic currency conversion to dynamically adapt your product pricing to match your customers’ local currency. 

Customer experience (CX) issues at checkout

There’s nothing worse than getting to checkout and seeing that the shipping costs more than the item itself. Keeping the CX clean and clear will help you convert more international customers.

Consider upfront shipping information on product pages, a coherent checkout page (e.g. all the same currency and language), and consistent branding.

Payment failures or delays

Settlement issues can happen for lots of reasons, but it’s never a positive experience for you or your customers.

If you process a high volume or value of payments, your merchant account and/or bank account might need more information about your business and its activity. Having your funds settle in a RMB currency account can reduce the risk of payments being held, but it won’t remove this risk.

Technical considerations

If this is your first time accepting online payments, you’ll have to go through the process of integrating a payment gateway with your business. Most providers offer supported onboarding and are designed to be straightforward, but it’s still a pressure on your resources – especially if you’re already wearing multiple hats in the business.

Add WeChat Pay to your checkout and get growing

If you want to expand your presence in China and APAC, it’s sensible and downright essential to accept WeChat Pay. It’s an understatement to call the platform ‘popular’ when it’s practically second-nature for one billion people.

With the right partner providing your payment gateway, accepting payments via WeChat can be a quick and uncomplicated process. The real benefits come from other features they can offer – like multi-currency business accounts, low-cost FX, and smart financial infrastructure to power your business.

If that sounds like what you’re after, then you need Airwallex.

FAQs

Can UK businesses accept WeChat Pay payments?

Yes, it’s possible to take payments using WeChat Pay in the UK. You’ll need a payment gateway, like Airwallex, that supports it as a payment method. After completing the necessary onboarding steps, you can add it to your in-store and online checkout.

Is WeChat Pay only useful for businesses selling to China?

WeChat is most popular in China, but its global customer base (of well over one billion users) spans Asia and North and South America. Millions of people use it outside of China and, of course, the Chinese immigrant population spans most nations on earth. Accepting payments from WeChat Pay is sensible for any business.

How long does it take to start accepting WeChat Pay?

If you don’t currently use a payment gateway that supports WeChat Pay, you’ll need to find one and complete their onboarding process. Then, you’ll need to enable WeChat Pay and do a separate onboarding process. You could be set up in a couple of weeks. If you’re adding WeChat Pay to your existing gateway, it’ll be much quicker. 

Can WeChat Pay be used for online and in-store payments?

You can use WeChat Pay in-person and online. In-store, you can integrate it with your point of sale system or card terminal, as well as printing a QR code that customers can scan with WeChat. This is a popular method in China. Online, you can add WeChat Pay to your checkout by enabling it in your payment gateway dashboard.

What’s the difference between accepting WeChat Pay directly and via a payment provider?

The biggest difference is that using a payment provider is far easier, quicker, and less complex than accepting WeChat PAy directly. All of the back-end setup is done with a payment gateway, you just have to complete your onboarding. Plus, most gateways will integrate with your accounting software and automatically reconcile your revenue and transactions.

Sources and references

1. https://www.statista.com/chart/17409/most-popular-digital-payment-services-in-china/

2. https://www.marketingscoop.com/website/blogging/wechat-statistics/

3. https://coinlaw.io/wechat-statistics/