BEIJING (Reuters) – Tik-Tok owner, Beijing-based ByteDance recently launched its third-party payment service ‘Douyin Pay’ in China, as it looks to expand into the e-commerce business.
“The set-up of Douyin Pay is to supplement the existing major payment options, and to ultimately enhance user experience on Douyin,” Douyin said in a statement on Tuesday.
ByteDance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming built up the company’s payment capability in China by acquiring Wuhan Hezhong Yibao Technology Co last year. Hezhong Yibao obtained a third-party payment license from the central bank in 2014.
ByteDance’s expansion comes as China’s financial regulators are tightening oversight over financial technology firms, particularly companies such as Ant Group.
China’s third-party payment sector is dominated by Alipay and WeChat Pay, with the former taking 55.39% of the total market in the second quarter of last year, according to market researcher Analysys. Other players include JD.com’s JD Pay, Baidu Wallet and Meituan Pay.