Will the launch of the bank savings function really help WeChat pay for “reserving customers”?
On October 16th, we learned that the WeChat wallet has a new feature on the line–bank savings function. This feature is currently in the grayscale test phase and is only available to some users.
The so-called bank savings function, that is, banks provide deposit products in WeChat. Users can open the bank’s deposit account directly on WeChat, without going to the counter or bank mobile client. From the perspective of the internal testing interface, the bank currently working with WeChat is only one ICBC. Similar to ICBC’s traditional bank savings products, the 7-day notice deposit rate can be obtained after the time deposit has been deposited for 7 days. The 3-year deposit annualized interest rate is 3.85%.
At present, WeChat bank savings function is free to open, deposit and transfer, and does not charge any service fees.
Source: WeChat wallet screenshot
In the past year, WeChat payment has continued.
On November 17, 2018, WeChat officially launched the Zero Money Pass function. The amount of money deposited by the user can be used for consumption at any time, while enjoying the annualized interest rate of 2.3830%.
In September 2019, WeChat payment points were fully launched. The user accumulates points based on personal real-name information and consumption history. According to the score, you can enjoy shared equipment free deposit rental, hotel reservations and other services.
From the timeline, the launch of this new feature is no accident. Zero Money provides short-term financial management functions, payment points to achieve credit rental services, and this time launched a new feature – bank savings is to fill the lack of WeChat regular wealth management products.
For WeChat payment, the launch of this new series of features helps to upgrade the user experience level and increase user viscosity.
But the launch of the bank savings function will really help WeChat pay for “reserving customers”? In fact, , the Internet traffic giant launched regular wealth management products, is not new. From the “Bank Select” portal of JD Financial App, you can see hundreds of wealth management products provided by 31 banks including Xinwang Bank and Xin’an Bank.The annualized interest rate varies from 1% to 5% depending on the length of the holding period (live to 5 years); Alipay’s “Wealth-Financial” interface provides insurance and brokerage wealth management products in addition to banking products.
In contrast, the bank deposit function of WeChat payment is slightly monotonous. The cooperative bank is only one ICBC, and the longest term of the product is 3 years. In addition, according to previous reports from , there is a consensus in the industry about the financial attributes and stickiness of users of Alipay and WeChat – financial products The traffic conversion rate on WeChat is not as good as Alipay.
Source: WeChat wallet screenshot
On the other hand, this is also related to the habit of users using WeChat payment. WeChat payment was born on the social platform of WeChat, targeting third-party small-frequency high-frequency payment scenarios. Based on this logic, users not only do not often put large amounts of funds into WeChat wallets, but also require funds for payment to have higher liquidity. Bank deposit-saving time deposit products are intended to break this habit.
WeChat payment and zero money pass function, from the internal test to the official launch, it took a year. In the coming year, can we see the official launch of the bank savings function?