TikTok Owner ByteDance Launched Its Own Payment Service

The Chinese company ByteDance, which owns the popular short video sharing app TikTok, has launched an electronic payment service for the Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin. ByteDance reportedly intends to expand its e-commerce business in this way and enter China’s lucrative market for fintech and e-payment services, which are used by hundreds of millions of consumers.

For now, the new payment service called Douyin Pay is only available in China. It supplements existing major payment options Alipay and WeChat Pay, which were previously the only payment options within Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Douyin now has over 600 million daily active users.

The creation of Douyin Pay supports the existing payment options and improves the service for Douyin users, Douyin said in a statement.

ByteDance began its journey to launch its own payment service in 2020 when it acquired Wuhan Hezhong Yibao Technology Co, which obtained a third-party payment license from China's central bank in 2014.

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The Internet ProtocolKay Lee

Users of Douyin Pay will be able to connect their bank account to the service and then use it to pay for goods that content makers promote in their videos.

According to ByteDance, the function will be rolled out gradually.

ByteDance also decided to shut down the development of its own smartphone.

In 2019, the company mentioned its plans to develop its own mobile device, which would have the company’s applications preinstalled, but this idea failed because there is no place for such devices on the market.