--- title: "WeChat API: what it covers and how businesses use it (2026)" description: "The WeChat API is four platforms, not one. See what each covers, who can use it and what to set up before you build." canonical: "https://sleekflow.io/en-sg/blog/wechat-api" html_lang: "en-sg" date_modified: "2026-10-30T02:39:59Z" og_title: "WeChat API: platforms, credentials and setup 2026" og_description: "The WeChat API is four platforms, not one. See what each covers, who can use it and what to set up before you build." og_image: "https://cdn.sanity.io/images/6zoovl1f/production/17d199e75980a7577222ddb32ba426d5e678d4b1-1208x790.png" --- ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Article", "headline": "WeChat API: platforms, credentials and setup 2026", "description": "The WeChat API is four platforms, not one. See what each covers, who can use it and what to set up before you build.", "url": "https://sleekflow.io/en-sg/blog/wechat-api", "dateModified": "2026-10-30T02:39:59Z", "image": "https://cdn.sanity.io/images/6zoovl1f/production/17d199e75980a7577222ddb32ba426d5e678d4b1-1208x790.png", "breadcrumb": { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sleekflow.io/en-sg" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Blog", "item": "https://sleekflow.io/en-sg/blog" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "WeChat API: platforms, credentials and setup 2026", "item": "https://sleekflow.io/en-sg/blog/wechat-api" } ] } } ``` # WeChat API: what it covers and how businesses use it (2026) *YeeLin Thum — Head of Brand & Communications* ## Summary - The WeChat API is really four platforms, so pick the one that fits your job before anyone writes code. - Tencent's Q2 2026 results put Weixin and WeChat at 1,439 million monthly users, so choosing the right platform first pays off. - Tencent's documentation allows replies for 48 hours after a customer message, but only one minute after a follow, scan or menu tap. - Fetch and refresh the access token from one central server, because Tencent says each new request invalidates the previous token. - If you only need to reply to customers, a verified Service Account connected to a platform can be enough. If you're coming from the WhatsApp Business API, you might expect the WeChat API to give you one sign-up, one set of credentials and one approval queue. It doesn't work that way. Official Accounts, Mini Programs, WeChat Pay and the Open Platform each have their own console, credentials and eligibility rules. A build started on the wrong one gets reworked. Tencent reported [1,439 million monthly active users](https://www.tencent.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Tencent-Announces-2026-Second-Quarter-Results.pdf) of Weixin and WeChat combined at 30 Jun 2026, up 2% from a year earlier. That's a large audience, and it only helps if your first build lands on the right platform. In this guide, you'll learn what each platform does, who can use it, and what to sort out before anyone writes code. ## What does the WeChat API include? WeChat's API is a set of four developer platforms inside one app, each with its own console and credentials. Official Accounts handle messaging, Mini Programs run apps inside WeChat, WeChat Pay takes payments, and the Open Platform handles login and identity across apps. - **Official Accounts** are the messaging layer: followers, conversations, tags, menus and broadcasts. - **Mini Programs** run inside WeChat with no install step, and have a client API and a server API. - **WeChat Pay** is the payment layer, with its own merchant console, merchant ID and certificates. - **The Open Platform** handles WeChat Login on mobile and web, and one identity across your apps. ## How does the WeChat messaging API work? The WeChat messaging API sits in the Official Accounts platform and works inbound first. You set a server URL in the console, and WeChat pushes customer messages and events to it as XML. Your server answers in the same HTTP request or later through the customer service message API, which only works inside a time window. You then have two ways to reply: - **Passive reply.** You answer in the same HTTP request. If WeChat gets no response within 5 seconds, it retries the request three times, so use `msgid` to spot duplicates. - **Empty reply.** If you can't answer in time, return an empty string and WeChat won't retry. Send the reply through the API instead. ### What is the customer service message window? The customer service message window is the time after a customer action in which you can reply through the API. After a customer message you get 48 hours and a cap of 5 messages. After a follow, a QR scan or a click on a qualifying menu type you get one minute and a cap of three messages. Tencent's Chinese page lists the same limits, and it prevails over the English translation. Official Accounts and Service Accounts need certification before they can call the [customer service message interface](https://developers.weixin.qq.com/doc/service/en/api/customer/message/api_sendcustommessage.html). Mini Programs don't. Outside the window you need template messages, which are for authenticated Service Accounts and don't support ads. ## What do Mini Programs add? A Mini Program is an app that runs inside WeChat without a separate download, and its code splits in two. The client API runs on the customer's device and can't hold secrets. The server API runs on your backend with your AppSecret and handles login, content checks and code generation. ## How do WeChat Pay APIs work? WeChat Pay has several payment modes, and the one you use depends on where the customer is when they pay. Your server creates the order, the customer approves it in WeChat, and WeChat tells your server the result through a callback. Tencent's v3 list also includes Native, H5 and Auto-Debit payment. ### How does a Mini Program payment work? A Mini Program payment runs in four steps between your server, the customer's phone and WeChat. Your server places the order, the Mini Program asks the customer to pay, and WeChat confirms the result. Trust the server callback over what the phone reports, because you can verify the callback. 1. Your server creates a prepay transaction and gets a `prepay_id`, which Tencent says is valid for two hours. 2. The Mini Program calls `wx.requestPayment` with the signed parameters, and the customer confirms. 3. WeChat sends a notification to your callback URL, which must use HTTPS. It may send the same one twice, so check the order status first. 4. You verify and decrypt the notification, then mark the order paid. ## What does the Open Platform do? The Open Platform handles identity. You register an app and get it approved, and then you can offer WeChat Login on mobile and the web. Its most useful output is the `unionid`, one ID for a person across your apps. An `openid` is unique per application, so one person has a different `openid` in your Official Account and your Mini Program. A `unionid` is shared across apps under the same Open Platform account, once you bind your Service Account to it. ## How do you get API credentials? You get credentials from three consoles. The Official Accounts platform at mp.weixin.qq.com covers Official Accounts and Mini Programs, the Open Platform covers WeChat Login and cross-app identity, and WeChat Pay has its own merchant console. Each console issues its own AppID and AppSecret, so plan for a separate set per platform. Tencent says calls from IPs off the whitelist get a 61004 error, and every callback URL has to be reachable from the public internet. ### Which account type can use which API? The account type decides which messaging features you get. Tencent's [batch send page](https://developers.weixin.qq.com/doc/service/en/Message_Management/Batch_Sends_and_Originality_Checks.html) allows Subscription Accounts one broadcast a day and Service Accounts four a calendar month. Pick the type before you register, because it sets what you can send. Tencent's registration guide says an organization outside mainland China (a company, sole proprietorship, school, government agency or other organization) can register one Service Account in select regions. The account works normally only after Weixin Verification. Tencent's [overseas verification FAQ](https://kf.qq.com/faq/190723aQvMR31907233IF7FV.html) lists US$99 per review, charged whether or not it succeeds, with a wait of 7 to 15 working days after you pay and send complete documents. Tencent's annual review notes list US$99 for each yearly review, and mainland China accounts pay a separate amount. Rules for payments and company registration differ by market. Take advice from a licensed provider and local counsel before you register. ## What goes wrong most often, and how do you secure it? Four problems account for most stalled WeChat integrations: an unverified account, callback URLs that don't match, messages read in the wrong security mode, and access tokens that get overwritten. Each one looks like a code bug, so check the account and its settings first. - **Unverified account.** Certification is a condition for the customer service message interface. - **Mismatched callback URLs.** The console URL and the URL your server answers on must match, including protocol and path. - **Wrong message handling.** Reading an encrypted body as plaintext produces garbled text that looks like a parsing bug. - **Overwritten access tokens.** Tencent lists a token lifetime of 7,200 seconds, which may change, and says a new request invalidates the last one, so use one control server and have every other service read it from there. Keep every secret on your server, and verify the `Wechatpay-Signature` header before you decrypt a payment notification. ## How did Eau Thermale Avène build membership portals on WhatsApp and WeChat? Eau Thermale Avène, a French dermo-cosmetic brand that's part of Pierre Fabre Dermo-Cosmétique, sells in Hong Kong through retailers such as Mannings and Watsons. In 2022 it moved its loyalty program, which had needed an app download since 2020, to WhatsApp and a WeChat Official Account. Members scan a QR code to chat with the Avène Smart Assistant and send a photo of a receipt to earn points. SleekFlow's story reports more than 60,000 new members, a two-month deployment and one centralized social CRM platform, with no period given. [Read the full case study](/en-sg/customer-stories/eau-thermale-avene-use-case). ## How does SleekFlow connect to a WeChat Service Account? If you want to reply to customers rather than build on the API, SleekFlow connects a verified WeChat Service Account to its [shared inbox](/en-sg/inbox). Your team can reply and send broadcasts there, inside WeChat's 48-hour reply window, without writing any API code. SleekFlow's [Help Center](https://help.sleekflow.io/wechat/wechat-channel-overview) lists what works, treats anything it doesn't list as unsupported, and is the page to check before you plan (updated 13 Aug 2026): - **Service Accounts only.** They must be verified by WeChat, and you can connect one WeChat Official Account per SleekFlow account. - **Customer first.** A business can't start a conversation, and replies must go out within 48 hours with a cap of 5 messages per window. - **Message types.** You can send text, voice notes of 16 MB or less, payment links and product catalog messages. Location, contact messages, stickers and published articles aren't supported. - **Broadcasts and flows.** You can create broadcast campaigns with a WeChat Service Account, and the Flow Builder [Send message action](https://help.sleekflow.io/advanced-flow-builder-actions/send-message-action-node) lists WeChat as a channel. - **Custom menu.** Finish it before you connect. SleekFlow's [setup guide](https://help.sleekflow.io/wechat/connecting-wechat-official-to-sleekflow) says it can't be reached on WeChat after step 2, unless you disconnect. - **Cost.** Sending and receiving messages is free of charge. The Tencent verification fee is separate. See it in action on the [WeChat integration page](/en-sg/channels-integrations/wechat). ### Does WeChat have an official API for personal accounts? Tencent's customer service message page lists only Mini Programs, Official Accounts, Service Accounts and Mini Games as account types that can call it. Personal accounts aren't listed, so don't plan a build on one. ### Do I need a company registered in China? Not necessarily. Tencent's registration guide says organizations outside mainland China can register one Service Account in select regions, and Tencent runs a separate verification route for them. Verification still needs documents and a fee. Rules differ by market, so ask local counsel before you register. ### What are the WeChat rate limits? Tencent's limits page lists daily limits for newly registered Service Accounts: 500,000 customer service message calls and 2,000 access token calls. Check the Chinese page, which prevails.