One of China’s largest cities will allow residents to link their national identity cards to the ubiquitous mobile messaging and social-media app WeChat using facial recognition, further enmeshing Chinese consumers into Tencent’s technology ecosystem.
Authorities in Guangzhou, capital of the south coastal province of Guangdong, announced the pilot programme for the city’s Nansha district this week. It will probably be rolled out nationwide next month, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
WeChat started in 2011 as a mobile messenger, but it has since expanded into social media, voice calling, cloud storage, online shopping and financial services, including mobile payments.
