--FILE -- la gente visita il supporto della messaggistica mobile app Weixin o WeChat, di Tencent durante una mostra a Pechino, in Cina, il 13 maggio 2015. Tencent H
--FILE--People visit the stand of mobile messaging app Weixin, or WeChat, of Tencent during an exhibition in Beijing, China, 13 May 2015. Tencent Holdings Ltd. plans to add a personal loan feature to its popular WeChat smartphone messaging application later this month, in the latest step in the Chinese Internet giants expansion in online financial services, according to people familiar with the matter.The new WeChat feature called Weilidai, which literally means a tiny bit of loan, allows users to borrow up to 200, 000 yuan ($31, 350) without guarantee or collateral. The Weilidai service is operated by WeBank, an Internet bank launched in January by Tencent and Chinese financial firms.Internet finance is the next major battleground for two of Chinas largest technology companies -- Tencent, whose main services areonline games and social networks, and online shopping giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Both Tencent and Alibaba, through its affiliate, offer online payment services and are starting to play greater roles in the countrys burgeoning market for online financial services.
