WeChat Africa and McDonald’s South Africa have joined forces to pilot mobile payments at selected flagship restaurants in Johannesburg and Cape Town. WeChat Africa said it has extended its wallet features by introducing a new, quick, easy and safe mobile payment option Quick Pay. This feature allows customers to generate a QR code in their WeChat Wallet that is then scanned by WeChat scanner at the point of sale counter. WeChat launched its mobile wallet late last year. Like a physical wallet, customer can securely store their bank cards and make instant cash payments within WeChat. Customers can electronically send cash to friends and family. Chip and Pin enabled debit and credit cards can also be used to top up a wallet balance, pay for services on WeChat such as airtime, data and electricity while also utilising the SnapScan feature to purchase goods at any of the 30,000 merchants in South Africa. When registering for WeChat Wallet, customers automatically become Instant Money users, which allows those without bank accounts to enjoy the benefits of the platform. Standard Bank’s Instant Money vouchers make up the cash balance, which can be topped up via traditional Instant Money channels. McDonalds and WeChat noted that Quick Pay will be available at McDonalds Sunnyside, McDonalds Skinner, McDonalds Waterfront, McDonalds Carnival City and McDonalds Parktown from 1 December, while the remaining restaurants have already gone live with Quick Pay. Read: WeChat Africa to invest R50 million in tech startups
Messaging app WeChat Africa and McDonald’s South Africa have partnered to run a pilot programme for mobile payments at selected restaurants in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The option allows customers to create a QR code in their WeChat Wallet, which is then scanned at the counter to complete the sale. In addition to these partnerships, there are also plans by other companies such as Airtel to offer mobile payment options on its network.