Chinese tourists drive WeChat Pay growth in Philippines

Chinese tourists are helping drive the growth of cashless payments using Tencent’s WeChat in the Philippines, according to its Filipino partner, Asia United Bank.

Chinese tourist arrivals are projected to hit 1 million. Staying in the country for 8 days on average, WeChat Pay in the Philippines can generate up to P48 billion in revenue, said AUB vice president and credit card business head Mags Vazquez Surtida.

“The transaction counts are increasing. The transaction values are increasing. We can see more merchants. We see the growth happening on a daily basis,” Surtida said.

WeChat Pay is accepted in 1,000 retail outlets in the Philippines, including hotels and restaurants, Surtida said. The number of daily transactions recently reached up to 2,500 in the run-up to the Chinese New Year, twice the average per day, she said.

The value of single transactions were as high as P90,000, recorded in Boracay. Diners spend P6,000 to P12,000 while shoppers pay P4,000 to P7,000 using WeChat Pay, she said, Surtida said.

Surtida said AUB hoped to grow the number of WeChat Pay merchants in the Philippines to 5,000 by March.