(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- WeChat, China's largest instant messaging application, has started testing a function to allow content providers to require users to pay for each read article.

WeChat's parent Tencent Holdings sent invitations to some experienced official account owners yesterday to trial the new service priced between CNY1 (15 US cents) and CNY208 (USD30) per article, the Beijing News reported. So far the app will not take a cut.

Chinese video and online fiction platforms commonly charge users small fees for each video or a certain number of words.  

WeChat will make more efforts to facilitate high-quality content creators' work because excellent publishers deserve better rewards, according to the platform.

By last September, the app had nearly 1.2 billion monthly active users, according to WeChat data. Companies and individuals used 3.5 million official accounts as of the end of 2017.

Editor: Emmi Laine