Facebook’s Libra could cripple AliPay and WeChat Pay says Tencent

• WeChatPay and AliPay  lead  other digital payment platforms in the Chinese region.
• Libra is likely to bank the people in areas with no access to financial structures.

Leading Chinese internet guru, Tencent has envisioned the negative impact likely to be felt when Facebook’s proposed crypto project, Libra hits the ground rolling. Tencent is the parent company of WeChat, a popular messaging platform in the Chinese region as well as a digital payment platform; WeChat Pay.

A white paper, published by Tencent calls Libra a “bold and radical” idea but one that is “prudent and rational” for Facebook. Libra, if allowed to operate, would entice regions around the world that have bogus fiat currency systems. Other places that will find Libra attractive are those with little to no access to basic financial structures. While Facebook’s Libra has the potential to serve all these people, existing Chinese payment platforms are unlikely to replicate.

“Any internet company that has a relatively mature digital payment system, such as WeChat Pay and Alipay, would be threatened by the stablecoin if it is ever launched.”

At the moment, WeChat Pay and AliPay are the two leading digital payment platforms in the Chinese region. WeChat boasts of 1 billion active daily users while AliPay, operated by Alibaba is a direct competitor.

Cautious of the impact of Libra’s launch to existing payment platforms, Tencent’s white paper said:

“The launch of Libra would significantly affect the course of global expansion for digital payment companies, especially for those who are not in the Libra consortium.”