WeChat reports expanding usage as Spring Festival holiday goes digital

BEIJING, Feb. 10 -- Tencent's popular instant messaging tool WeChat reported expanding usage during the Spring Festival holiday as Chinese continue to digitalize the festival's traditions.

The number of messages exchanged on WeChat during the period of Feb. 4 to Feb. 9 surged 64.2 percent year on year as users rushed to send their Chinese New Year greetings, according to a report released Sunday by the platform.

About 823 million people sent and received digital red envelopes during the period, up 7.12 percent year on year.

About 26,000 companies used customized WeChat red envelopes for their employees, with the Agricultural Bank of China boasting the biggest number of receivers.

WeChat data showed that the post-90s generation like spending the holiday overseas most, with Hong Kong, Macao and Bangkok as popular destinations. France entered the top 10 most popular overseas destination list in terms of WeChat payment usage, the first time for a European country.

Launched in 2011, WeChat has become a dominant instant messaging tool in China, with about 1 billion daily active users.