Germany Frankfurt International Airport shopping can be paid by Alipay and WeChat

According to the duty-free magazine TRBusiness on sept 11, Frankfurt airport can now use Alipay and WeChat to pay for goods.

German WiRARD Bank Software Company and GEBR reached an agreement.
The Heinemann duty-free store at the airport will support WeChat and alipay, two mobile payment platforms.

There are 100 authorization points in 28 GEBRs. Frankfurt Airport’s Heinemann Duty free shop also supports two mobile apps, and users scan the QR code to pay the amount. The Frankfurt Airport Wirard application provides technical support to ensure Alipay and WeChat payments are available.

Chinese tourists are particularly satisfied with the service, and they no longer have to worry about exchange rates, and can make use of the payment platform direct payment amount.



Previously, Chinese tourists used the China unionpay credit card in Frankfurt Airport shopping. ” Chinese tourists are very important customers for us at Frankfurt airport, and the addition of Alipay and WeChat payment methods is more attractive to Chinese tourists,” “said Georg Fuhrmann, general manager of Frankfurt airport.

In addition, Alipay and WeChat payments are also directly targeted at tourists, and offer incentives such as discounts and perks, which are more appealing to tourists.

In addition to the airport, the Heinemann shops of the tourist attractions can also pay with Alipay and WeChat, which are usually travel retail stores that sell liquor, perfume, cosmetics and sweets.

Why don’t germans like mobile payments?

In contrast to the Chinese craze for mobile payments such as alipay and WeChat, the germans say no to both alipay and WeChat payments.

A German online media stern commented that while Alipay’s acceptance in Germany is getting higher, its users are mostly Chinese tourists, not Germans. The commentary sharply the German consumer’s attitude towards Alipay and WeChat, and other mobile payments.

Germans have an unvarnished attachment to cash payments.

According to the Berlin Daily Survey, 77% of Germans prefer to pay in cash because they feel safe and secure with cash, which is much higher than the European average.

In a 2017 survey of cash payment preferences by ING Bank in the Netherlands, 75% of Europeans thought that no cash would not work, compared with 84% per cent of Germans who held the view.

Although German consumers say no to mobile payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat payment, but from the use of Chinese tourists in Germany, there is no doubt that Alipay and WeChat pay for these mobile payment methods can attract Chinese consumers to shop.