Send Money to Strangers and Other New WeChat iOS Updates

You may or may not have noticed some new features on WeChat. The platform now allows the transfer of money to specific group members and for WeChat phone calls to be logged in your ‘Recent Calls’ list.

Send Money to Strangers

So, your friend’s friend paid for dinner, but you don’t really want to add them on WeChat since you just met. Now you can send money directly to people in a group without even having to add them. 

Go to the group > Click the ‘+’ sign > Transfer > Select the payee.

The group will be able to see the amount sent, but no other group members will be able to click on the transaction. 

No need to send hongbao in a group, only to have it accidentally opened by those lurking opportunists. 

WeChat as a Phone Call

While WeChat calls are currently contained within the app, some users have reported that they can be answered on an iPhone lock screen. Additionally, the call is now logged on the phone’s ‘Recent Calls’ list. (This may not be good news for serial call log deleters).

The feature was actually available on iPhones in 2016 but was apparently suspended two years later. 

Images via 南方日报

To check if you have the feature, go to Me > Settings > Message Notifications. 

Only some WeChat iOS users version 8.0.6 or 8.0.7 will be able to see it (we could not). 

[Cover image via Unsplash]