Why does WeChat transfer need to be confirmed, but Alipay doesn't?

Everybody is a product manager

2024-05-30 15:37Posted on the official account of everyone is a product manager in Guangdong

As two giants in the payment industry, why do they have different designs for the processing of transfers? WeChat needs to be confirmed, Alipay does not need to, what are the considerations?

In today's increasingly popular mobile payment, WeChat Pay and Alipay, as two giants, have a profound impact on our daily life.

Attentive users may have noticed a subtle but noteworthy difference in the process between WeChat transfers and Alipay transfers: WeChat transfers require the recipient to confirm receipt, while Alipay transfers are instantly received in most cases without additional confirmation.

What kind of considerations and logic are hidden behind this difference?

01 WeChat's cautious strategy

The first starting point for the introduction of a confirmation mechanism for WeChat transfer is to enhance the security of transactions.

As a social platform, WeChat's transfer function is built on a huge social network, which means that the relationship between the two parties may be more complex and changeable, including but not limited to relatives, friends, colleagues, and even strangers.

In this context, the addition of a payment confirmation step essentially provides a layer of protective umbrella for users:

Misoperation-proofing: Transfer errors are one of the common problems, especially when it comes to quickly entering or selecting contacts. The confirmation mechanism gives the user a chance to "regret it", once the wrong account is found, the transferor can cancel the transaction before the payee confirms it, effectively reducing the loss of funds caused by misoperation. Fraud prevention: Online fraud methods are endless, using fake identities, emergencies and other methods to trick money transfers. WeChat's confirmation mechanism provides users with a window of time to verify the authenticity of the other party's identity and transfer needs, reducing the risk of being scammed. Control of funds: The confirmation process gives the recipient more autonomy over when to receive the funds, especially when it comes to goods or services, ensuring the traditional principle of "inspect the goods first, pay later", which is conducive to maintaining the fairness of the transaction.

02 Alipay: Efficiency and trust

In contrast, Alipay chooses the instant payment mode in most scenarios, which is based on its long-term deep cultivation in the field of electronic payment and the accumulation of user trust:

Positioning of professional payment tools: Alipay has been a professional online payment tool since its birth, and its core user groups have a relatively high degree of trust in online transactions. Instant arrival reflects the response to users' needs for efficient transactions, especially suitable for e-commerce shopping, living expenses and other scenarios. Confidence in the risk control system: Alipay has a mature risk control system, which can monitor transaction behavior in real time and intercept suspicious transactions in a timely manner, which makes it effective in ensuring transaction security even without using a confirmation mechanism. Credit system support: Ant Financial's credit evaluation systems such as Sesame Credit have built a trading environment based on personal credit for Alipay. The high-credit user base reduces the uncertainty in the transaction, making instant arrival possible and a reasonable option.

03 User habits and market positioning

Integration of social + payment: WeChat's transfer confirmation mechanism is closely related to its social attributes, aiming to maintain the security of users' funds in social scenarios.

WeChat Pay is more embedded in social activities such as chats and red envelopes, so the security design is more discreet.

Alipay:

The evolution of professional payment tools: Alipay has been focusing on payment since its birth, and has gradually developed into a diversified platform covering finance and life services. Its instant delivery design is in line with its market positioning as a professional payment tool, emphasizing the efficiency and trust of transactions.

The difference between WeChat transfer and Alipay transfer in whether to confirm this detail is actually a comprehensive reflection of their respective brand positioning, security considerations, user experience and market strategy.

Both have their own advantages and adapt to the diverse needs of users in different scenarios.

In the future, with the advancement of technology and changes in market demand, the two platforms may further adjust and improve their transfer mechanisms to better serve the majority of users.

In this process, the balance between users' sense of security and convenience will continue to be the core issue of innovation and development in the payment field.

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