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Tencent would want to hope most WeChat users aren't like Cai Jiami. The 31-year-old hastily transferred the balance in her WeChat "wallet" – roughly 7,000 yuan ($1070) – to her personal bank account before the Tencent-backed mobile messaging app could charge her for doing so. "It's not a lot of money but I just don't like to be charged," Jiami, a wedding planner based in China's southwestern Chengdu city, told CNBC. "I have Alipay on my phone, which is free and working well. Why would I waste money on WeChat?" From March 1 WeChat will charge users a fee of 0.1 percent when they transfer money from the app's built-in digital wallet to their personal bank account. According to an announcement by Tencent, the charge will be levied on withdrawals of more than 1,000 yuan ($153), with the minimum fee per transfer set at 0.1 yuan. WeChat also said it would scrap an existing monthly charge on large cash transfers; it currently charges users a 0.1 percent fee on total monthly transfers in excess of 20,000 yuan ($3,058). The new policies are an attempt to cover WeChat's banking costs, as well as to keep users' money in the WeChat Wallet, according to analysts.

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