How to setup a Cross-border WeChat account?
In order to set up a Cross Border WeChat account, you need to have three things:
- a China-visible WeChat account
- a WeChat cross-border payment account
- a WeChat e-commerce website.
China-visible WeChat account
To apply to a China-visible WeChat account, companies will most often need to have Chinese business license. Each Chinese business license can register 50 WeChat account (service or subscription).
Foreign companies have two option to register:
- Borrow the business license from a business partner or use a third-party agent to register an account. It usually takes 7 business days to register a Chinese WeChat account. Note that you will need to verify the account annually in order to access some of the features like WeChat payment or advanced API.If you choose this option, you will not be able to apply for the normal WeChat payment account since it would get linked with the bank account of the company which provided its Chinese business license. You can link it with a WeChat cross-border payment account (see next section) or any Western payment solution like Paypal and Brain Tree.Click here to check WalktheChat’s account creation service.
- Companies can also apply for a China-visible WeChat account with their foreign business license directly through Tencent. Note that this is not a standard process, it can take two months to finally get the account. The company needs to prove to Tencent it wants to do e-commerce in China. It also needs to provide an existing foreign e-commerce website. Tencent charges a 2,000 USD fee to open this type of account.Tencent can also open accounts for companies willing to heavily invest in WeChat advertising (above USD 1M per year).
WeChat cross-border payment account
The concept is simple, customers pay with their regular WeChat account in RMB, and the money directly arrives in your oversea account in the local currency.
- Account creation fee: free
- Transaction fee: 3%
- Settlement date: T +1 (T means transaction date)
- Minimal settlement amount: 5000 USD
Bank fee: shared (Tenpay covers bank fee for transferring money out from the Chinese bank; other charges such as cost of intermediary banks or receiving banks are covered by the account owner)
Limitations: German companies are not able to apply for this service due to local legislation. Financial companies won’t be able to apply due to risks of money laundry. Gambling, pornography, and drug industries are also prohibited due to Chinese law.
Click here to find out more.
WeChat e-commerce website
You have a lot of options to create a WeChat e-commerce website: here are 5 ways to open it for free. However if you would like to leverage WeChat cross-border payment as the collection portal, you will need to have a custom-made WeChat website. WalktheChat offers WeChat shop templates that can integrate with cross-border payment solution. Click here to find out more.
SaSa Hong Kong 莎莎
SaSa is one of the biggest Hong Kong cosmetic retail platforms. The platform is focused on selling cosmetic products from big brands at a discount price. Its WeChat website takes users to different sales sections: flash sale, weekly sale, clearance and final sale.
SaSa accept different currencies: RMB through WeChat cross-border payment; HKD through Union Pay; and USD through credit service providers like Visa, Master and American Express.
(WeChat id: sasahk1978)
Minxing Yichu 明星衣橱
Minxing Yichu is an App that sells clothing from foreign brands (from Korea, Japan, North America, and Europe). Its WeChat account is used as an user acquisition channel: it only displays some of the products and you will have to download the App in order to make purchases.
On its App, users can login through WeChat login.
Depending on the country, the shipping cost and tax will be slightly adjusted.
For example:
- Korean clothes cost 32RMB in shipping, with 20% tax.
- A Japanese face cream costs 0RMB in shipping with 50% tax.
- Shoes from England cost 50 in shipping with 20% tax.
You can pay with a WeChat cross-border account or an Alipay cross-border account. For each account, users pay in RMB, and the deposit goes to the company’s oversea USD account.
Ashford
Ashford is an online retailer of luxury watches. It is shipping watches directly from overseas to China at a hugely discounted price. It accepts credit card, Alipay cross-border, Tenpay cross-border and Paypal.
(WeChat id: AshfordChina)
LOTTE 乐天免税店
LOTTE is a multinational shopping corporation with headquarters in South Korea and Japan. LOTTE’s WeChat e-commerce website is targeting cross-border travelers. Users can order products before boarding and pickup the duty-free products at the airport. This gives shoppers more time to select products without rushing to catch their plane. The special discount on WeChat shop also brings in-store shoppers to an online store where LOTTE can push more promotions after the travelers return to their home country.
LOTTE’s WeChat website accepts Tenpay cross-border, Alipay cross-border and credit card.
(WeChat id: lottedfs)
JD Worldwide
JD Worldwide is the cross-border platform of JD.COM. It has shopping sections for countries all over the world. Users could choose a country and browse its products. Products range form baby products to health supplement.Once users order a product, it will be shipped directly from the production country. The website uses WeChat cross-border payment to process RMB transactions.
(WeChat id: JDWorldwide)
The boom of cross-border e-commerce
There is a good reason why more and more accounts and companies are getting into WeChat cross-border e-commerce: the market is literally booming.
According to a recent McKinsey report, cross-border e-commerce amounted to USD 40 billion in 2015, as much as 6% of China’s total e-commerce transactions! And the pace of growth is impressive: about 50% every year.
Two main drivers to this growth: Chinese customers are eager to get good deals, and higher quality products (the two criteria seem to have a relatively similar influence on customer purchases).
