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CHINA. Leading online payment service provider Alipay.com has partnered with tax free shopping company Premier Tax Free to provide an enhanced tax refund service to Chinese tourists who shop in Europe.
In addition to the standard refund methods of cash or credit card, Alipay’s 400 million registered users will be able to have their VAT refunds paid directly into their Alipay accounts. This, said the company, guarantees a better rate of exchange compared to credit card and cash refund options, and makes tax free shopping easier.
Premier Tax Free, a specialist in tax free shopping and international credit card processing, works with over 150,000 retail stores worldwide and around half of the world’s luxury brands.
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“As the supplier of tax free shopping services to the very best retailers in Europe, Premier Tax Free is delighted to work with Alipay.” said Patrick Waldron, CEO of Premier Tax Free. “Increasingly our Chinese customers are using favourable currency exchange rates to spend more with the premium European retailers, so we are pleased to also offer them the best exchange rates when their tax refund is paid by us, directly into their Alipay accounts.”
According to iResearch, Alipay ranked first in China’s online payment market, representing the largest share (49.2%) of gross merchandise volume in the third quarter of 2014. Alipay offers payment for transactions on Alibaba Group’s marketplaces as well as to third parties in China.
“Given that Europe is such an important and popular destination for Chinese travellers, we feel it is important to provide our users with reliable services in the region,” said Sabrina Peng, President of Alipay International in Europe. “Working with Premier Tax Free is another important step for us in providing Alipay users with a seamless global shopping experience.”
French luxury department store Printemps was one of the first Premier Tax Free retailers to roll out this Alipay refund option. Shoppers can select this refund choice when using their interactive self-service tax free kiosks, which allows them to generate their own tax free forms.
This service is now available at a select number of retailers in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria and Switzerland, with more countries to follow.
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Alipay offers Chinese shoppers a new tax free refund option |
