Investing.com - Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd (HK:0700) is partnering up with Japanese chat app operator Line Corp (T:3938) to enable mobile payment services, according to Japanese media Nikkei.
The move aims to help small businesses in Japan to serve Chinese tourists. The service is expected to begin next year. Small businesses will then be able to use Line terminals compatible with Tencent’s WeChat Pay to receive payments.
The partnership will help Tencent to tap into Japan’s mobile payment landscape and Line to capitalise on the Chinese tourism boom.
Last year, around 7.35 million Chinese tourists visited Japan, three times the number from three years ago.
Yahoo (NASDAQ:AABA) and SoftBank inked a similar partnership in the space, launching the PayPay mobile service this fall. The two later partnered with Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) so that Alipay users can pay at some PayPay member stores.
Tencent’s share price rose 1.81% to HK$303.2 on Tuesday morning in Asia, while Line surged 9.12% to ¥3,710.