WeChat Will Restore Tipping Function on iOS Following Talks With Apple
Duan Qianqian
DATE:  Jan 15 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
WeChat Will Restore Tipping Function on iOS Following Talks With Apple WeChat Will Restore Tipping Function on iOS Following Talks With Apple

(Yicai Global) Jan. 15 -- WeChat, the popular instant messaging app of Chinese Internet titan Tencent Holdings Co. [HK:0700], will soon restore its 'tipping' function on Apple's iOS, the head of the project said. This development brings closure of the lengthy negotiations between WeChat and Apple on the matter.

WeChat inaugurated its tipping function in 2016. To cultivate high-quality content on its platform, it allows readers to tip certified content providers who publish articles via the app. WeChat shut down the tipping function on iOS in April, because Apple Inc. [NASDAQ:AAPL] deemed the function non-compliant with its payment rules, which prohibit directing users to purchase mechanisms other than Apple's in-app-purchase.

Tim Cook, Apple's chief executive, met with his Tencent counterpart Pony Ma in August in Apple's US headquarters in Cupertino in the US state of California to discuss the tipping function.

WeChat enjoyed very good cooperation with Apple in the early days. Disputes over the 'red packet' -- Chinese holiday cash gifts -- and tipping functions sprang from cultural differences, Zhang Xiaolong, senior executive vice president of Tencent and head of its WeChat division, said today at a press briefing.

"We have reached a consensus with Apple and the tipping function will soon be restored," with a major change, he added, but without elaborating.

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Keywords:   US,Apple,IOs,TENCENT