I live in China, and resisted using wechat for a year or so, until it became clear that I was essentially removing myself from the majority of China's online world. I'm still highly annoyed when I get seven minutes' worth of 30-second voice clips from someone, or when people insist on using it as a replacement for email (essentially, using it as a replacement for all internet-based communication, period), but it's impossible to ignore.
And I'll admit, finding the wallet thing was a bit of an "a ha" moment for me.
And lastly, it became obvious that the only way to promote my company and its business to a Chinese audience was to run an official wechat account for it.
So there we are. I just got a new phone, and wechat was the first thing I installed.
Seriously, the wallet thing is both amazing and terrifying. Apparently the only thing standing between me and sending all my worldly wealth to a wechat contact is a six-digit PIN. Two-factor whut? Given what I know of the Wild-West Chinese internet, this is deeply worrying.
> Seriously, the wallet thing is both amazing and terrifying. Apparently the only thing standing between me and sending all my worldly wealth to a wechat contact is a six-digit PIN.
Indeed. My internet banking account (that my employer gives me) has the same PIN as internet password. Change the PIN at the ATM, and the internet banking password also changes. Change the internet PIN, and the ATM pin changes. Damn, they're the same.
BUT...
Do as locals do and maintains multiple bank accounts with different banks, and multiple credit cards with different banks.
This is not unique to China, but is also the case here. And it doesn't come from internet security, just from 'this is how it has always been done' via various banking promotions and access to local branch (China's banking network is, by policy, branch and region based). But it works here. I know no one that even keeps all their money in the same account, let along allows access to the same account via WeChat.
The big issue: WeChat is Tencent's bid to become a bank with full suite financial services. It will work against monoliths like Visa and MasterCard, even UnionPay. Because they don't bother with charging a transaction fee. What merchant doesn't like that?
Chinese don't even really know what Email is. For most of them email is "that second chat function in QQ which for some reason is more complicated. no idea why anybody uses it".
Also as you pointed out in the end, it's not just that you remove yourself from the Chinese internet world. You don't have access to China in general without it. It's so integrated in people's daily life that it's nearly impossible to separate online and offline any more.
And I'll admit, finding the wallet thing was a bit of an "a ha" moment for me.
And lastly, it became obvious that the only way to promote my company and its business to a Chinese audience was to run an official wechat account for it.
So there we are. I just got a new phone, and wechat was the first thing I installed.