Alipay that refuses to become WeChat is doomed to fail.

As early as 2018, WeChat's founder Zhang Xiaolong stated that WeChat is a tool, not a platform.

Since then, WeChat's development has continued along the path set by Zhang Xiaolong.

Even now, when WeChat has become a super app, we can still define it as a social tool rather than anything else.

However, unlike WeChat, which has always viewed itself as a "tool" at its core, Alipay has consistently tried to shed its "tool" identity.

Whether it's Alipay's repeated failed attempts at social features or its efforts to build a content ecosystem that went nowhere, Alipay seems to have been trying to break free from the perception that it is merely a payment tool.

History has shown that Alipay's repeated attempts to move beyond its original role as a payment tool have repeatedly ended in failure.

To this day, Alipay's primary function and fundamental identity remain that of a payment tool.

As the battle in mobile payments reignites, especially with WeChat Pay and JD Pay launching new offensives, Alipay's reluctance to remain just a tool reveals its underlying anxiety.

On December 23, Ant Group announced an organizational restructuring to advance Alipay's "dual-flywheel" and AI-first strategy. This includes establishing a Digital Payments Business Group to accelerate innovation in payment products and solidify its payment foundation, as well as a new Alipay Business Group to boost user growth, engagement, and commercialization. A rotating president system will be implemented for both groups.

To summarize and define this restructuring, Alipay's unspoken ambition is clear: it refuses to remain just a tool-based software and instead aims to transform into a large-scale super platform.

While WeChat has steadfastly maintained its identity as a social tool while continuously unlocking new possibilities, Alipay's refusal to accept its role as a tool-based software—despite repeated setbacks—leads us to one conclusion: Alipay, unwilling to become like WeChat, is doomed to fail.

I

From its inception, Alipay was the final piece needed to complete Alibaba's e-commerce ecosystem.

In this context, Alipay's role was simply that of a tool.

It must be acknowledged that by perfectly fulfilling its role as a payment tool, Alipay made an indelible contribution to Alibaba's rise as a commercial empire.

As Alibaba grew and prospered, Alipay also reached a mature and well-developed stage.

However, just as the e-commerce industry Alipay is rooted in inevitably hit a bottleneck, Alipay's growth also plateaued.

To break through this bottleneck and unlock new potential, we've seen Alipay repeatedly attempt to expand beyond its core.

Its numerous forays into social features and heavy investments in content communities are clear evidence of this.

Admittedly, these attempts have shown glimpses of Alipay's potential beyond payments.

Yet, they have also caused Alipay to lose the rigor and seriousness expected of a financial payment tool.

Initially, Alipay's new experiments felt refreshing.

But over time, these efforts began to clash with its established image in users' minds.

Looking back at Alipay's successful innovations, it's clear they all revolved around payments—its core identity.

This holds true for the success of Yu'ebao and Ant Forest.

Practice has proven that Alipay can indeed innovate while staying true to its payment-centric foundation.

But the basis of these successes remains Alipay's identity as a payment tool—not an internet product, let alone a super platform.

Recognizing this is key to understanding why Alipay's attempts to break out have repeatedly failed.

II

Unlike Alipay's unsuccessful attempts to expand, WeChat has consistently maintained self-restraint and its core identity while unlocking new possibilities.

It's no exaggeration to say that today's WeChat is far more than just the "tool" Zhang Xiaolong described—it now resembles a large-scale platform.

Within WeChat's ecosystem, you'll find not only WeChat Pay (akin to Alipay) but also content platforms like Video Channels and e-commerce integrations with Meituan and Vipshop.

Despite encompassing so much, WeChat's foundation remains unmistakably that of a social tool.

When users open WeChat, their primary need is still social interaction.

Even as WeChat has undeniably become a super app, its essence remains that of a social tool.

The financial services, content, and e-commerce incubated within WeChat's ecosystem exist to meet secondary needs arising from social interactions—unlike Alipay, which seeks to become an internet platform while forgetting its payment roots.

Ultimately, why has WeChat succeeded?

A key reason is that it has always defined itself as a social tool. All its derivative products and services stem from this identity—unlike Alipay, which tries to escape its payment tool limitations.

This insight reveals why Alipay keeps failing in its expansion attempts.

A major reason is that Alipay doesn't treat social features and content as serving payments—instead, it treats payments (its core) as serving social and content goals.

By defining itself this way and seeking expansion on these terms, Alipay lost its direction from the start.

III

In reality, as internet platforms become more interconnected—especially with the dismantling of walled gardens—Alipay's payment market is undergoing profound changes.

With WeChat Pay advancing aggressively and JD Pay making steady progress, Alipay's market share is being eroded bit by bit.

For Alipay, finding a strategy to maintain its position in mobile payments is indeed urgent.

This explains its repeated attempts to explore areas beyond payments.

We should understand this.

However, if Alipay reacts hastily without truly understanding its own essence, even the strongest offensives will backfire.

To maintain its position in mobile payments, Alipay must follow WeChat's example: stay true to its identity as a payment tool and focus on innovating around payments—ensuring new experiments serve payments, not the other way around.

Only when Alipay returns to its original role as a payment tool—especially by leveraging AI to enhance payments and unlock new potential—will it be on the right path.

Otherwise, if Alipay ceases to be Alipay and becomes a large internet platform devoid of its payment roots, it will lose itself entirely.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Alipay's core is payments. Everything about Alipay must revolve around payments.

Similarly, WeChat's core is social interaction. Everything about WeChat stems from this.

Yet Alipay refuses to accept being just a tool and rejects defining itself as one, unlike WeChat.

Hence, we've seen Alipay aggressively pursue social features, content, and commercialization.

Admittedly, these attempts reveal Alipay's commercial ambitions and its efforts to break free from constraints.

At its core, Alipay doesn't want to be a tool like WeChat—it wants to become an internet platform.

If WeChat is "scattered in form but united in spirit," Alipay is scattered in both form and spirit.

As Alipay loses its core and repeatedly discards the framework that enabled its growth, no amount of new features or expansions can save it from inevitable failure.

When Alipay refuses to become "WeChat," defeat is inevitable.$Alibaba(BABA.US)