Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial’s Alipay announced Tuesday that its mini program platform will completely integrate with the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo, according to a company’s press release.
Alipay expects that this alliance will attract new users and merchants into its mini programs platform, by offering merchants the possibility to expand their business reach through the Weibo social network.
Alipay added in the press release that the move will also benefit Weibo by enriching its ecosystem. For example, Maoyan, a ticket-selling site, can showcase a mini program under its own verified account on Weibo to facilitate its followers to buy a ticket directly on the platform, according to 36Kr.
Sina Corp’s Weibo is a content and microblogging service where many influencing topics first gain attention in the country. The platform reported 486 million monthly active users in June 2019, according to its second-quarter financial report.
Alibaba is one of Weibo’s largest clients, bringing USD 24,119 in advertising and marketing revenues between April and June. This accounted for 6.5% of Weibo’s revenue in this segment. The company is also an investor in Weibo.
Alipay added that its mini program platform now hosts more than one million mini programs, attracting more than 500 million monthly active users. Many service providers such as Hellobike have set up mini programs on Alipay, saving its users the need to download a standalone app to use such services.
36Kr is KrASIA’s parent company