SWITZERLAND. Tax free shopping specialist Global Blue has acquired a stake in European WeChat payment specialist EuroPass.
Global Blue said the new partnership underlined its focus on the Chinese market and its aim to offer its merchant partners a range of payment and refund services to help them attract and engage with Chinese travellers.
EuroPass has developed a mobile payment solution allowing Chinese travellers to use their apps to pay for transactions in Europe. As Global Blue’s exclusive tax free partner, EuroPass will allow tax refunds from transactions to be paid directly to travellers’ AliPay and WeChat Pay wallets, further expanding its range of refund products and giving Chinese shoppers greater choice when shopping and spending in Europe.
At the same time, Global Blue will introduce retailers to the EuroPass mobile payment solution.
WeChat, with over 938 million active users (90% of whom are Chinese), is one of the world’s largest standalone messaging apps. It also provides users the option of paying for goods and services.
EuroPass acts as a gateway to deliver WeChat’s services to European merchants. Its payment solution (tablet or POS integrated) allows businesses to facilitate WeChat payments from Chinese shoppers, in-store and online.
Aside from payments, EuroPass also offers a WeChat mobile ticketing solution and a European marketplace, helping drive WeChat customers to European merchants. Other investors in EuroPass include venture capital firm Partech and payment solution expert SwiftPass.
According to Global Blue tax free spend figures last month, Chinese shoppers made up the biggest share in tax free spend in the UK with 21% of the total tax free sales. “They also demonstrated the biggest growth in spend since last year,” Global Blue stated.
“Merchants will have the capability to accept WeChat Pay and AliPay in their stores, providing their customers with access to the world’s fastest growing payment networks.”
Earlier this year Global Blue launched a real-time refund system with AliPay and has invested in other refund solutions with UnionPay.
Global Blue CEO Jacques Stern said: “Chinese Globe Shoppers are vital to the retail and hospitality industries worldwide and we are committed to ensuring that our merchant partners have a range of payment and refund tools to service this important group of consumers.
“WeChat is the number one social network in China and an increasingly important player in the global payments space, so it is a natural platform for Global Blue to focus on. Our partnership with EuroPass will leave our affiliated merchants well placed to benefit from this new technology.”
