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Chinese e-commerce giant Tencent began charging fees to some users of WeChat Pay, the payment service linked to its WeChat messaging platform, in March, according to the Financial Times.

Now, users who send funds between their WeChat Pay wallet and their traditional bank account, as well as those who transfer between bank accounts, will be charged a nominal fee. WeChat has previously subsidized this fee as a means of competing with Alipay, another major third-party processor in China.

For context, WeChat now counts 700 million monthly active users, and more than 200 million of those are linked to bank accounts or payment information, leaving the firm with a large addressable base that could provide a stream of fee revenue. And as mobile payments continue to rise in popularity in China, that number is likely to continue to grow.

The firm’s new fee structure will likely help WeChat in two ways:

Managing losses: The firm spent $46 million on bank transaction fees in January 2016, and noted that in recent quarters, operating losses had been skyrocketing largely due to bank transaction fees. Passing that fee onto consumers helped the firm bring its losses “under control,” according to the Financial Times.

The firm spent $46 million on bank transaction fees in January 2016, and noted that in recent quarters, operating losses had been skyrocketing largely due to bank transaction fees. Passing that fee onto consumers helped the firm bring its losses “under control,” according to the Financial Times. Encouraging loyalty: Because the fees aren’t assessed for internal WeChat transfers, but rather those between WeChat and an outside bank, the cost could encourage users to keep money inside their wallet, which could drive up overall activity, according to an iResearch analyst who spoke with the Financial Times. And that, in turn, could help the firm remain competitive against other third-party peers.

Messaging apps have evolved from simple text communication tools to platforms that encompass file sharing and commerce. And there's more room to grow.

Will McKitterick, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, has compiled a detailed report on messaging apps that takes a close look at the size of the messaging app market, how these apps are changing, and the types of opportunities for monetization that have emerged from the growing audience that uses messaging services daily.

BI Intelligence

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

Mobile messaging apps are massive. The largest services have hundreds of millions of monthly active users (MAU). Falling data prices, cheaper devices, and improved features are helping propel their growth.

Messaging apps are about more than messaging. The first stage of the chat app revolution was focused on growth. In the next phase, companies will focus on building out services and monetizing chat apps’ massive user base.

Popular Asian messaging apps like WeChat, KakaoTalk, and LINE have taken the lead in finding innovative ways to keep users engaged. They’ve also built successful strategies for monetizing their services.

Media companies, and marketers are still investing more time and resources into social networks like Facebook and Twitter than they are into messaging services. That will change as messaging companies build out their services and provide more avenues for connecting brands, publishers, and advertisers with users.

In full, this report:

Gives a high-level overview of the messaging market in the US by comparing total monthly active users for the top chat apps.

Examines the user behavior of chat app users, specifically what makes them so attractive to brands, publishers, and advertisers.

Identifies what distinguishes chat apps in the West from their counterparts in the East.

Discusses the potentially lucrative avenues companies are pursuing to monetize their services.

Offers key insights and implications for marketers as they consider interacting with users through these new platforms.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

START A MEMBERSHIP Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the future of messaging apps.