The Wirecard Group is to enable Miles & More GmbH to accept Alipay barcode payments in their Lufthansa WorldShop stores via the new ‘Scan Alipay’ iOS app.
Alipay is China’s most popular mobile payment solution. The pilot phase is set to begin on 1 October in four stores located in Munich and Frankfurt am Main airports in Germany - right in time for the start of the ‘Golden Week’, a holiday period during which millions of Chinese tourists head over to Europe to shop. Wirecard will provide Alipay acceptance
and process the entire payment transaction within the framework of this partnership.
In the exclusive Lufthansa WorldShop Stores operated by Miles & More GmbH, high quality luggage and accessories, electronics and lifestyle products from many renowned brands are on offer. These are of great interest to Chinese tourists. In 2015 alone, affluent Chinese tourists spent USD 292bn on their trips abroad - more than any other country.
“We are looking forward to offer Chinese customers in cooperation with Wirecard the Alipay barcode payments in the Lufthansa WorldShop Stores. Now the shopping experience will be even easier and more convenient for these customers,” says Roland Adrian, Managing Director of Miles & More GmbH. “We are certain that the new payment method will be well-received. The next step, which will follow at a later date, would be to integrate Alipay in our till system and continue its rollout further.”
Dr. Markus Braun, CEO at Wirecard: “The number of Chinese tourists has risen massively. As surveys reveal, Germany is their preferred destination for European travel. Moreover, Chinese tourists like to splash the cash on holiday, meaning that they represent a significant source of income for retailers. We are therefore delighted to support the Lufthansa WorldShop Stores in offering mobile Alipay payments via the new Scan Alipay app. We are sure that many more joint ventures in this field are in the pipeline.”
Its ease of use means that the app is attractive for all retailers: customers making a cashless payment via the Alipay app simply need to show the retailer the barcode on their smartphone display. All the retailer is required to do is enter the amount payable in the relevant currency into the Scan Alipay app on the mobile end device and then scan the QR code on the customer’s smartphone. This is all that is necessary to complete the transaction. Payment processing is then handled by Wirecard Bank. Retailers can conveniently download the app from the App Store free of charge. Following a short, uncomplicated registration process, users can quickly begin making payments via the app. Wirecard’s ConnectedPOS technology is used for direct Alipay till system integration.