WeChat Pay to expand in Japan

Tencent Holdings Ltd is making its WeChat Pay more accessible for Chinese travelers in Japan through a tie-up with popular messaging app Line, a move that accelerates WeChat's overseas outreach.

The cooperation, which was announced on Tuesday, will allow Japanese brick-and-mortar merchants with a Line Pay terminal to process WeChat Pay transactions directly without the inconvenience of currency swaps.

Tencent said in a news release that the partnership can help small and medium-sized local businesses adopt mobile payments at rather low costs because it omits the need to purchase extra QR code scanners.