Sina to Roll out Credit Payment Service for Weibo Users

Sina will soon launch a service to enable Weibo users to make online payments on credit, Dai Geng, vice GM of Sina Payments, told Nandu reporter (in Chinese).

Zhong An, the online-only insurance company jointly founded by Alibaba, Tenent and Ping An, will provide coverage for defaults on payments.

In early this year, Alibaba, who has established a financial arm Alifinance, disclosed that the company would offer mobile shopping credit line but hasn’t released it yet.

Since Sina finally obtained a licence for online payments four months ago, Sina Payments has supported payments for utility and other bills, mobile recharges and tickets&coupons, and online banking by partnering with a dozen of banks or services. It also supports buying Credits, the virtual currency used across Sina platform for paying for virtual items or services, or purchasing ads on Weibo.

Weibo Wallet, a mobile app developed by the company, supports all above-mentioned payments. Shortly after Sina obtained the license, it, partnering with mobile payments service La Ka La, launched a Square-like mobile payment gadget.