For all its privacy problems, there is nothing like it made by a US company. With WeChat, you can make payments, transfer money, buy tickets, etc. It’s pretty amazing someone can scan a QR code on their phone to pay for most things, including riding the bus or shopping at a local market.

It would be great if there was an open source alternative that allowed for the add-ons and flexibility that WeChat does. Unfortunately, they appear to be taking the tired “security through obscurity” approach, and using fingerprints such as location to verify users’ actions, which doesn’t look great for privacy or security.