WeChat HK | Mainland China ID-verified users will no longer be able to make purchases at mainland merchants

WeChat has always been a bellwether in mainland China’s payments sector, including when it comes to using U.S. credit cards:

• WeChat Pay + U.S. Credit Cards: A Complete Guide + Risk-Control System Overview

Now WeChat HK (which can be used without limits in mainland China with HK credit cards, but does not support U.S. credit cards), at the request of regulators, will no longer support users verified with mainland China IDs using HK credit cards for spending in mainland China. Of course, users who have not yet completed verification can still use it..

With this change to WeChat HK, Alipay HK probably won’t be far behind. There has also been a lot of discussion about Alipay HK in WeChat groups lately.

Maybe it won’t last much longer either.