EXCLUSIVE– There are now approximately one billion users of Wechat and Weixin, the mobile messaging apps maintained by Tencent Holdings, according to the fourth quarter earnings the Chinese gaming and messaging company reported today.

As WeChat and Weixin both have their own mobile payment services, WeChat Pay and Weixin Pay, respectively, the user growth of these platforms makes Tencent, what “ we believe [is] the largest mobile payment provider in China,” as Martin Lau, president for Tencent, said during the company’s earnings call this morning.

The company grew its mobile users on this platform 11% from 2016, according to company statements, reaching the one billion milestone after the 2018 Chinese new year. While commercial and merchant payments continue to grow, Lau pointed to the company’s “social payments,” like its red envelope feature, for the growth.

“Social payment is a key differentiator [for Tencent],” Lau said during today’s earnings call. The transaction volume on these platforms also increased for the year, Lau said, though Tencent did not report specific figures in its earnings.  “P2P payments are the main driving force behind the growth of social payment.”

Of course, the growth of its mobile payment platforms keeps Tencent in key competition with Ant Financial, the parent company for Alipay.

Alipay currently has about 520 million Chinese users, according to its website. Tencent did not report individual MAU figures for WeChat and Weixin in its earnings. Both Alipay, WeChat, and Weixin have seen steady mobile user growth over recent years, as mobile payments have become the normal way  for Chinese consumers to pay.

“China is the most successful mobile payments market, arguably in the world,” Lau said during the company’s Q&A session after its earnings report, adding that this is partly due to the fact that “there are two strong companies competing to drive mobile payments forward.”

In addition to mobile, Tencent also reported growth in its lending, citing an outstanding loan balance of 100 billion renminbi (about $15 billion USD) on Weilidai, its loan product on private online bank, WeBank.  

The company will continue to drive mobile forward in 2018 with increased investment, according to company statements, and will also continue to invest in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain.

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