WeChat rolls out its own credit system nationwide, rivaling Alipay’s Sesame Credit

China’s private credit scoring systems from Alipay and WeChat Pay reward frequent users of the apps

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Published: 7:03pm, 5 Jun 2020Updated: 7:03pm, 5 Jun 2020

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Until this week, only one of China’s top two mobile payment apps offered its own user credit scores. That’s now changed as WeChat has officially rolled out its credit scoring system for all WeChat Pay users in China -- as long as you have a Chinese ID number.

Called the WeChat Pay Score in English, the system comes nearly five years after Alipay launched Zhima Credit, aka Sesame Credit. That system from Tencent’s mobile payments rival Ant Financial was launched in 2015.

(Abacus is a unit of the South China Morning Post, which is owned by Alibaba, an affiliate of Ant Financial.)

The two systems work similarly. Users are given a score based on their spending habits, which is supposed to show how creditworthy they are. Both credit scoring programs are opt-in, but a high score can offer perks like deposit-free rentals, coupons and small loans.

WeChat Pay hasn’t said what the highest possible score is, but 784 is on the higher end. (Picture: WeChat)

Tencent says the WeChat Pay Score is generated based on an evaluation of “identity characteristics,” payment behavior, and credit history. Identity characteristics refers to whether a user is registered with their real name and other relevant personal information, according to the program page. China’s central bank requires all mobile payment platforms to have users register with their real names, which are checked against ID numbers.