Wechat Money Transfer HK: your guide here

The WeChat money transfer service is called WeChat Pay. If you have an account with a Hong Kong bank, you can use WeChat Pay to make simple money transfers to your WeChat contacts.

It’s worth noting that while WeChat makes it really easy to send money to local friends who already have a WeChat account, sending money to overseas connections is harder - and may even be impossible. We’ll cover that, as well as a review of how to send money with WeChat HK, in just a moment.

If you need to send money overseas, WeChat might not work for you. Instead, check out the quick, cheap and safe international payments with Wise.

How WeChat Works: A Review

If you have a WeChat account you can use WeChat Pay to send fast mobile payments to other WeChat users, and participating merchants¹.

It’s important to note that you can only send money to people who either already have a WeChat account, or who could set one up in order to access the funds. This means that the service is available only to users in countries covered by WeChat - China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and South Africa.

You can send money from your WeChat Hong Kong account to a friend with a WeChat account from another country. However, the balance will remain in the original currency. So, if you send over Hong Kong dollars, your connection will receive the money in Hong Kong dollars and will need to either withdraw to a linked HKD account or spend in HKD. They may not be able to convert the money to another currency to withdraw it.

The only alternative is to use We Remit, which you can find within WeChat Pay. We Remit is a remittance service which offers payments to the Philippines and Indonesia, with the option of cash collection in the destination country.

When you want to send a payment to someone who doesn’t have a WeChat account - or who is in a country outside of WeChat’s service area - you need a different provider.

How to send money with WeChat Pay

To get started with We Chat Pay you’ll need to first bind your WeChat account and your chosen bank card or account. You can do this by following these steps²:

• Within the WeChat app, go to Me and then Wallet
• Select Bank Cards
• Click on Add credit card or bank account
• Follow the prompts to add either your chosen bank card or account, entering the details requested, and setting up a PIN for security
• You’re ready to start making WeChat Pay payments

With your We Chat Pay account you can send money to connections, spend online or via apps, or pay using merchant QR codes³. You’ll also be able to make donations and benefit from special offers from local selected merchants.

You may need a bank code when making money transfer to a Hong Kong bank. Check your bank code here.

What are WeChat Money Transfer fees for sending money?

WeChat doesn’t charge fees for the WeChat Pay service, although you may need to pay for data usage⁴.

If you’re using the We Remit service, you’ll find there is no upfront fee for sending money. However, there is likely to be a charge rolled into the exchange rate used - the provider has to cover their costs somehow, after all. Compare the exchange rate on offer against the mid-market exchange rate for your chosen currency, to spot any markup.

WeChat HK: Pros & Cons

If you’re wondering if WeChat and WeChat Pay are worth getting, here are a few things to think about.

Pros:

• WeChat is very popular - making it very likely your local friends have it already
• Send money is free to use
• Get many functions in one app - chat, call and pay

Cons:

• You need to download to app to get started - no web access
• Send money is only available to people with active WeChat accounts which limits the service area, with remittances only available in Indonesia and the Philippines
• If you send money to someone overseas who has a WeChat account, the payment will remain in the original currency - no conversion available

A cheap, fast and transparent alternative: Wise

WeChat has some great functions, but it can’t do everything. If you want to send money to someone overseas who doesn’t have access to WeChat, or if you want currency conversion, you need an alternative.

Check out Wise as a smart way to send and receive money all over the world. Like WeChat you have the convenience of opening your free Wise account online - and you can manage your money using the Wise app or any web browser. Hold dozens of different currencies in your account, and send easily to people all over the world - from Hong Kong you can send to over 90 countries.

If you need currency conversion when sending your payment, that’s fine too. Wise will convert your payment using the mid-market exchange rate with no markup. You’ll be able to see exactly what the transfer costs - and what your recipient will get - before you process the payment. No hidden costs, no nasty surprises - just simple, cheap international payments.

If you’re a WeChat user, WeChat Pay is a great way to send money to local friends and contacts. But your options for sending money to people overseas are limited. If you’re planning on making an international transfer, you might want to try Wise for convenient online payments all over the world.

Sources used in the article:

1. WeChat - What’s WeChat Pay?

2. Citibank - WeChat Pay

3. WeChat - FAQ

4. WeChat - HomePage

Sources last checked on 23-September 2020.