Chinese central bank has reportedly urged the country’s top antitrust watchdog to look into antitrust issues posed by digital payments giants Alipay and WeChat Pay, Reuters has reported.
Sources familiar with the development told the publication that the People’s Bank of China believes that the companies have leveraged their ‘dominant positions’ to suppress competition in the market.
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The information has been gathered by the State Council’s antitrust committee for over a month on Alipay and WeChat Pay, which is owned by Tencent Holdings.
However, no final decision has yet been taken by the regulator whether to carry on with the probe, the undisclosed sources said.
It is being believed that the committee is taking the central bank’s recommendation “very seriously”.
Both firms, according to sources, are n in talks with government officials to avert an investigation.
If the probe is initiated, it could adversely impact Ant Group’s planned dual listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The company is eyeing a valuation of over $200bn.
Alipay and WeChat Pay services facilitate payments at the convenience of a code scan.
Domestic consultancy Analysys estimates that Alipay holds 55% of the market while Tencent’s fintech business, majority of which is WeChat Pay, has a market share of nearly 39%.
But the Chinese regulators are keen on checking their dominance and encourage smaller players to enter the market. As part of this strategy, the People’s Bank of China revealed plans to standardise the interoperability of QR code payments last year.
