Global Blue launches real-time refunds worldwide

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 14, 2018

Global Blue is making tax free shopping easier for Chinese tourists with the launch of a real-time refund service available to Alipay and WeChat users worldwide.

The service was initially launched in selected airports across Europe in 2017, and has been extended to over 700 refund points worldwide. For retailers affiliated with Global Blue, this means their Chinese customers will have more choice and flexibility around how they receive their VAT refund.

Alipay and WeChat Pay users will see a successful refund arrive immediately into their accounts in their home currency. The speed and convenience of the mobile payment refund service has received positive feedback from Chinese shoppers and has led to high acceptance since launch.

Whilst Alipay is one of the world’s largest online and offline payment platforms with over 520 million active users in China, WeChat serves more than 1 billion active users.

“Global Blue is committed to offering a wide range of refund options to our Chinese Globe Shoppers visiting Europe. With millions of active users per month, Alipay & WeChat represent together an increasingly important payment channel outside China and we are confident the service will become even more popular among Chinese shoppers,” said Tomas Mostany, Global Blue SVP Product TFS.

“We have built strong relationships with these key partners and we look forward to collaborating on new innovations that will continue to better serve Chinese Globe Shoppers.”