ON FRIDAY, the 26th of September, Tencent will release version 5.5 of WeChat (Chinese: Wēixìn/, 微信), according to a Sohu IT report. Version 5.5 will improve the WeChat coupon management system and the online marketplace. It will add more user functionality and enhance professional use by online businesses, as the micro-POS (point-of-sale) system (previously locked in closed beta-testing) will hit the open markets.
The new release will upgrade WeChat’s 'card pack' (Kǎbāo/卡包) e-purse/e-wallet. Like the iOS Passbook, the card pack helps users manage coupons, tickets and other forms of electronic payments, purchases and information. Noticeably, the e-wallet sub-menu will be accessible through a new seat in the application’s main menu.
Version 5.5 aims to improve convenience and ease of use of WeChatters' coupons and vouchers in two respects. First, it will enable fuller integration and management of personal bank cards and accounts, coupons, discounts and other information. Second, it will connect users more directly with the company providers of coupons and tickets, acting as and offering a service number directory for those companies. The hope is that WeChat will be as functional—if not more so—than the leather wallets and cardholders some of us continue to lug around in our pockets.
Despite these plusses for its users, 5.5 really caters to business. For example, it will offer lightweight ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software to analyse coupon distribution data. In so doing, owner Tencent hopes to continue addressing O2O (online-to-offline) aspects of its access to and activity in digital and physical markets. When users of the new version pay for products or sign up for memberships with WeChat's micro-POS, they will share certain data (such as their WeChat usernames) with businesses and accrue digital coupons in the transaction. This may bring about closer connections between businesses, consumers and methods of payment (online and off). In addition to “Scan-and-Pay” services, businesses can also display QR codes—on trains, in elevators, you name it—that Android- and iOS-wielders can scan to receive discounts and vouchers which are then stored directly in the WeChat e-wallet.
Presented as an improvement for all, WeChat 5.5 is clearly geared to attract the attention of businesses and entrepreneurs. Which makes sense because, according to industry sources, Tencent's leading mobile communication platform has yet to satisfy expected earnings this year. WeChat 5.5 represents Tencent's increasing focus and savvy on mobile use and consumption patterns.