Tencent’s micro-lending arm, Tenpay Microfinance, has drawn market attention with its latest capital injection of 4.5 billion yuan. The company provides credit services for the consumer finance product "WeChat Fenfu."
Recently, the Shenzhen Local Financial Regulatory Bureau approved Tenpay Microfinance to increase its registered capital from approximately 10.526 billion yuan to 15 billion yuan, adding 4.474 billion yuan.
Since 2020, Tenpay Microfinance has raised capital six times in five years, expanding its registered capital from an initial 300 million yuan to 15 billion yuan—a 50-fold surge. The latest capital boost aligns with regulatory requirements and business expansion needs.
While both micro-lenders and consumer finance companies operate in the broader consumer finance sector, the latter benefits from higher leverage limits. Major internet firms typically hold micro-lending licenses, but consumer finance licenses remain scarce.
**Six Capital Raises in Five Years** Tencent injected funds into Tenpay Microfinance through two entities: Shenzhen Tencent Domain Network Computer Co. (Tencent Domain) contributed 4.25 billion yuan, and Shenzhen Tencent Computer Systems Co. (Tencent Computer) added 224 million yuan. Post-increase, Tencent Domain holds a 95% stake (14.25 billion yuan), while Tencent Computer owns 5% (750 million yuan).
Tenpay Microfinance declined to comment further on the capital hike.
Earlier in November, the company underwent several changes, including appointing Wang Pengfei as general manager to replace Zhang Jun, dissolving its supervisory board, and relocating its registered address to Tencent Digital Building. Wang, currently general manager of Weiheng Technology, oversees operations for WeChat Fenfu, which is serviced by Tenpay Microfinance and operated by Weiheng.
According to Qichacha, Tenpay Microfinance completed five capital raises from 2020 to 2023: - March 2020: 300 million → 1 billion yuan - November 2020: 1 billion → 2.5 billion yuan - April 2021: 2.5 billion → 5 billion yuan - June 2022: 5 billion → 10 billion yuan - January 2023: 10 billion → 10.526 billion yuan With the sixth approval in November 2025, its capital surged to 15 billion yuan.
Industry-wide, nearly 30 micro-lenders raised capital this year. For example, Ping An-backed Jinlian Yuntong increased its capital from 5 billion to 10 billion yuan in July. By registered capital, the top three are ByteDance’s Zhongrong Microfinance (19 billion yuan), Tencent’s Tenpay Microfinance (15 billion yuan), and Ping An’s Jinlian Yuntong (10 billion yuan). Meanwhile, smaller lenders continue exiting the market. Central Bank data shows 4,863 micro-lenders as of September 2025, down by 400 from 5,257 at end-2024.
**WeChat Fenfu’s Expansion** Launched in 2020 as a rival to Ant Group’s Huabei, WeChat Fenfu underwent three years of beta testing before broadening access in July 2024. Users can access it via WeChat Pay for dining, shopping, and entertainment—excluding red packets. This year, it quietly introduced a loan feature.
**Micro-Lenders vs. Consumer Finance: Internet Giants’ Strategies** Tenpay Microfinance’s repeated capital hikes may reflect efforts to expand consumer lending under capital adequacy rules.
In January, the *Interim Measures for Micro-Lending Company Supervision* took effect, requiring micro-lenders to contribute at least 30% of joint online loans with banks. This ties business scale directly to capital strength.
Though WeChat Fenfu and Ant Huabei are both consumer credit products, their licenses differ: Fenfu operates under a micro-lending license (Tenpay), while Huabei uses a consumer finance license (Ant Consumer Finance). Alipay’s "Credit Purchase" is bank-funded.
Consumer finance licenses offer advantages in funding channels and leverage. Huatai Securities estimates consumer finance firms can leverage up to 12.5x, versus 5–6x for micro-lenders, with funding costs at 3–4% compared to 6%. Thus, consumer finance licenses can support over twice the loan volume per unit of capital at 70% lower costs—partly explaining micro-lenders’ capital raises.
As of June 2025, WeChat Fenfu’s outstanding loans reached 112.588 billion yuan. Its daily interest rate is 0.04% (14.6% APR), while Huabei charges 0.05% but offers up to 41 interest-free days. Ant’s 2024 ESG report showed 65% of Huabei users paid no interest.
**Internet Players’ Landscape** While micro-lending licenses are common among internet giants—like ByteDance’s Zhongrong (19 billion yuan; "Douyin Instant Loan"), JD.com’s JD Shengji (8 billion yuan; "JD Baitiao"), and Baidu’s Du Xiaoman (7.4 billion yuan; "Manyi Loan")—consumer finance licenses are rarer. Ant, JD, and Xiaomi hold such licenses, with most others bank-owned. Notably, "Alibaba Microfinance" dissolved in October.
Backed by Tencent’s billion-user ecosystem, its fintech segment thrives. Tencent’s Q3 2025 earnings showed fintech and business services revenue up 10% YoY to 58.2 billion yuan, driven by payment and lending growth.
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