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| - Analysis: Videos misleadingly link digital payment to China’s social credit system
Annie Lab found a series of posts on X that misleadingly link China’s social credit system to WeChat Pay credit score.
They claimed that only users with certain credit scores would be able to use WeChat’s mobile digital payment feature to purchase from vending machines, charge electric cars, and ride the subway.
WeChat Pay credit scores are an opt-in service users can activate in the app. Higher scores can unlock some perks such as coupons and deposit-free “buy now, pay later” features. It is entirely voluntary.
Social credit system, on the other hand, is a controversial national policy that was announced a decade ago but has not been fully implemented nationwide, although some local governments have used it to score individuals based on their daily activities, not limited to financial dealings.
There have been news reports about people with “illegal or dishonest behaviors” being penalized under the system. Those with low scores are said to have been banned from being hired as civil servants, setting up a business, or buying real estate.
However, this controversial social credit system has little to do with the popular digital wallet features such as WeChat Pay credit score and Alipay’s zhima (sesame) credit score.
False: Video shows user’s WeChat Pay score, not the social credit
A post on X in October 2023 shared a video showing a woman in China purchasing something from a vending machine using WeChat. It claimed that such purchases were only possible if people had a minimum social credit of 550.
The post has over 900 comments, 2,000 reposts, and 3,500 likes at the time of writing.
The video has a watermark of a Douyin account, which led to the original clip on the platform uploaded in May 2023 by an internet cafe in Jiangsu.
The Chinese voiceover in the clip says “打開微信掃碼” (use WeChat to scan the code) and “支付分” (pay score), indicating that WeChat Pay is being used. It was clearly meant to showcase the cafe’s latest vending machine that works with WeChat Pay score.
We can see the Chinese characters shown in the app with WeChat Pay logo that says “WeChat Pay Score, Buy Now, Pay Later.”
The WeChat Pay score was launched in 2020. According to the app’s feature introduction page, the credit scores are determined based on the “identity characteristics” of the users, including payment behavior and usage history. Users’ real name and other relevant personal information is part of the calculation.
However, to use this feature, users must enable it first. Also, the required credit scores to use the “Buy Now, Pay Later” function are set by the partner enterprises selling the goods, not by the app.
False: this video also shows WeChat Pay score; it is not necessary to use it to charge cars
Another tweet posted on Jan. 1 made similar claims with a video about charging an electric vehicle with the WeChat Pay.
The post, which has garnered over a hundred engagements, suggests that only people with a “social credit score” over 550 are allowed to recharge a car with WeChat Pay.
However, a screenshot of the video posted by the X user shows clearly in Chinese that the person charging the car is using WeChat Pay, and thanks to the high credit score, this person doesn’t need any deposit in the app.
Annie Lab found a Douyin account of a company running electric vehicle recharge service stations in Guangdong that uploaded the original video in October 2023.
The company also posted another video in the same month explaining that customers can choose from two payment methods that are available on WeChat Pay — the “charge now, pay later” service or using the deposit.
False: Beijing subway ticket gates still accept many payment options
A video showing a man paying a Beijing subway fee by scanning his palm was shared on X on Jan. 3, with a claim that WeChat only allows people to pay for the ride using palm or facial scanning when their social credit score is higher than 550.
The post author, who previously made a false statement regarding the “charge first, pay later” service, further claims that citizens with a low social credit score would not be able to take the subway.
This post has gained close to 200 engagements as of this writing. However, neither claim is true.
First, WeChat palm payment has nothing to do with WeChat Pay credit or the social credit system. Biometrics such as face and palm scanning are commonly used to authenticate the user in many digital payment services.
WeChat palm payment identifies the wallet account through palm prints and palm veins.
Palm scanning as a payment method was first introduced in May 2023, and it is currently available in the Daxing Airport Express subway line in Beijing.
CCTV news reported that once palm prints are scanned and connected to users’ WeChat accounts through a machine, the feature can be used on all palm pay machines.
This X video also originates from Douyin. The account that uploaded the video in August 2023 mentioned Daxing Airport Express in the hashtags, which led to a China Daily news article in May introducing the new payment method with voluntary palm print registration.
Another media outlet, China Securities Journal, also reported about the new method and said the machines in the relevant stations still support “ticket purchasing, ticket collection and other functions.”
In fact, the video in the false tweet shows other options for different payment methods, including facial scan, transit card, QR code and physical ticket.
According to Beijing Business Today, WeChat also supports QR code payment in the Beijing subway system starting in December 2023.
According to the service agreement of the WeChat Pay palm payment, passing the palm scan verification shall be deemed as placing a transaction order, with no mention of the WeChat credit score.
The note on Beijing Railway Traffic Palm Payment Service, which is available through WeChat mini program (a dedicated web app within WeChat) does not link this method to any payment or behavior history.
“Buy Now, Pay Later”
This “Buy Now, Pay Later” feature is not exclusive to WeChat Pay. Alipay, another popular digital wallet service in China, also employs a similar system.
Globally, Afterpay and Paypal allow eligible users to buy products before paying or to pay in instalments. They, and many similar digital payment services, work almost exactly like how physical credit cards work, and each service provider decides how to calculate credit scores.
What is China’s social credit system?
The State Council made a roadmap plan for the social credit system in 2014 to “promote a culture of trust throughout society,” according to the state-owned media CGTN.
Different cities and local governments built their own experimental social credit programs — for example, in Suzhou, Xiamen and Zhengzhou. Authorities evaluate people’s behaviors, commercial activities, involvement in judicial cases, and other factors to determine the scores.
In some cities, repeated jaywalking can be deemed an undesirable social behavior and affect the credit record. On the other hand, “good behaviors,” such as blood donation and volunteering, could lead to more points in the system.
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