Uber WeChat Partnership Drives Chinese Tourist Demand
- tech360.tv
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Uber Technologies' strategic partnership with Tencent Holdings' super app WeChat is yielding significant dividends. The ride-hailing operator is meeting a critical demand from Chinese travellers overseas.
Since Uber launched a mini-program on WeChat in July, travellers from the mainland have actively used Uber’s services via the new channel in 20 markets. Anthony Wong, head of business development at Uber in Asia-Pacific, stated these markets were among the most important for the company. These included the US, Europe, Japan, and South Korea.
About 90% of the mini-program users were new to Uber, Wong added. The ride-hailing service provider operates in 70 markets globally.
Uber will offer a discount of at least 40% for new mainland users joining via its WeChat mini-program. This campaign is timed for the Lunar New Year in Feb., when mainland residents will enjoy a record nine-day holiday.
Uber is a prime example of how Tencent continues to expand its ubiquitous mini-program ecosystem in China and overseas. Merchants from more than 100 markets globally have launched mini-programs on WeChat, serving Chinese tourists and local residents.
Some markets recorded 1 million monthly active users last year, including Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong-Macau combined. Italy witnessed exponential growth, with its monthly transaction value more than quadrupling in the second half of last year.
Tencent is seeking to expand its reach beyond just Chinese tourists overseas. It recently launched the "Tenpay Global Checkout" for mini-programs.
This new feature supports multiple payment methods, including digital wallets, local payment networks, and credit or debit cards, allowing overseas users to make payments using familiar local methods.
WeChat, known as Weixin on the mainland, was also testing a new feature to redirect Google search results to mini-programs on the app. This was confirmed by Du Zhiyang, a representative from the WeChat mini-program team.
WeChat has formed other major partnerships to serve Chinese tourists. In April 2025, it introduced a Chinese-language mini-program for Tabelog, a popular Japanese restaurant review website.
This enables mainland tourists to check restaurant locations, book tables, and pay bills in yuan. A month earlier, Singapore rolled out a "Sentosa Discovery Guide" mini-program on WeChat, featuring a Mandarin interface.
Uber's WeChat mini-program is successfully attracting Chinese travellers in 20 key markets.
About 90% of mini-program users are new to Uber.
A 40% discount will be offered to new users during the Lunar New Year holiday in Feb.
Source: SCMP
