¡¡¡¡In China,  cash gifts are traditionally given in real red envelopes during weddings and the Chinese New Year.   The WeChat red envelope was launched during the Chinese New Year with a stipulation that the amount should be less than 200 yuan.  Figures from Tencent Holdings Ltd.   show that during that festival period,  about 8 million users snapped up 40 million red envelopes. 

¡¡¡¡For example,  if a person in a WeChat group of 10 sends 100 yuan as a gift and says anyone can have a maximum of 20 yuan, the first five to “grab” get the money while the other four miss out. 

¡¡¡¡Red envelopes add a sense of atmosphere and strengthen interaction.   The amount everybody gets could be different,  so it is funny to see the comparisons. 

¡¡¡¡The WeChat red envelope is an innovative way for people to send greetings.   It also gets people into the habit of using WeChat payment,  because you need to link it to your bank account. 

¡¡¡¡For Internet companies,  functions such as WeChat payment are an important part of the whole Internet ecosystem,  as many other functions such as hailing taxis or shopping are based on online payment.