Chinese payment solutions are being introduced across the board in Tyrolean companies
Wirecard and Tirol Werbung are launching a new China Pay initiative. The goal of the project is to provide comprehensive coverage of the entire state with Wirecard’s payment solution in order to introduce the most popular Chinese mobile payment methods at numerous businesses in Tyrol.
Innsbruck Tourism, Kitzbühel Tourism, the Kufsteinerland Tourism Association, Ötztal Tourism, the St. Anton Tourism Association and Swarovski Crystal Worlds are on board as partners. At the start, 150 companies in the region will be equipped with the solution.
According to a Nielsen study, around 91% of Chinese tourists would be willing to spend and shop more abroad if more retailers accepted Chinese mobile payment methods. With this initiative, Wirecard and Tirol Werbung are therefore addressing the preferences of this target group. Among other things, Tirol wants to offer Alipay as a payment option in as many businesses as possible. Wirecard will handle the entire payment integration and processing process.
Total spending by Chinese tourists in Austria increased by 28% in 2018 compared to the previous year. This puts China at the top of the list of non-European shopping countries for tax-free purchases in Austria in 2018. With a share of 30 percent of all tax-free sales in Austria, China is the clear number one country of origin in the nation ranking, ahead of Russia (10 percent) and Switzerland (8 percent). While the average amount spent by non-European tourists was 508 euros, visitors from China spent an average of 616 euros on each purchase.
Holger Gassler, Head of Markets at Tirol Werbung, said in a press release: "We expect to gain a competitive advantage by being the first province in Austria to introduce Chinese mobile payment methods on a large scale. The idea of convenience in payment plays a major role for this target group in particular and can strengthen value creation both in the destinations and for the participating companies. The introduction of Wirecard's digital payment platform is also one of the first projects as part of Tyrol's digitalization offensive."
Roland Toch, Managing Director CEE at Wirecard, adds: "Experience shows that accepting Alipay as a new payment method can lead to an increase in transaction volume with travelers from China of more than 350 percent within one year. We are proud to offer our digital payment solution to hundreds of businesses together with Tirol Werbung and continue to drive the digitalization of payment processes. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Tirol and other regions in Europe in the future."
