NETHERLANDS. From 1 January, Chinese shoppers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol can purchase using the Alipay platform. The mobile payment technology has been introduced to the airport’s See Buy Fly stores in partnership with SIX Payment Services and Bovertis.
SIX and Bovertis have equipped the shops with a cash register-integrated solution for Alipay acceptance. Schiphol Group said that it “enables merchants at Schiphol Airport to meet the requirements of this steadily growing and affluent target group by offering their customary means of payments”.
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Director Consumer Products & Services Tanja Dik said: “We are delighted that we can now make Alipay available to our Chinese customers in our See Buy Fly Shopping Centre. It is really important for us that all passengers have a great customer experience at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. That includes having a straightforward check-out process and being able to pay in our shops by using a familiar mobile payment method.”
Bovertis B.V Founder and Chief Software Architect René Balvert said: “With more and more payment methods entering the market it is sometimes hard to advise customers which trend to follow. In the case of Alipay there was no doubt. Both Alipay’s huge client base and her superior technology make it a must-have at international facilities like airports. Bovertis is always eager to support her customers with new technology and working with SIX and Alipay to get this done in record time was a real pleasure.”
SIX Payment Services Head Merchant Services Roger Niederer added: “Alipay has over 520 million Chinese customers, of whom more than ten million visited Europe in 2016. We at SIX want to provide our merchants with the simplest, fastest and most reliable check-out process. It is therefore a logical consequence for SIX to include Alipay in our acceptance portfolio and to make available to Chinese tourists their favourite, trusted payment solution, regardless of where they are.”