Mobile Payments Titan Alipay Steps Into Tax Refunds in South Korea
Tax refund day is a great day for a lot of people, the day in which people get back the excess of their paid-in taxes throughout the year. It feels like a windfall, and the kind of thing that prompts many to go shopping. Alipay recently tipped us off about plans to set its foot into the tax refund market itself, and the mobile payments powerhouse brought what’s described as “the first paperless tax refund service” to South Korea.
Established as a partnership effort with Global Tax Free (GTF), who serves as a tax refund agency, the Alipay effort mirrors one that was established previously in Europe. This effort allowed users to receive tax rebates in Alipay accounts after scanning an Alipay quick response (QR) code at an airport tax counter. It’s geared toward Chinese tourists-Alipay has made quite a few efforts on that market front of late-and allows those tourists to get tax refund receipts turned into usable cash rapidly.
Alipay Korea general manager Danny Chung noted “…With this unique new function, Alipay users can skip the queue and process tax refunds on their mobiles, without filling out and submitting any paper work. This will both save time and make it easier to claim refunds. We look forward to working with our partners and leveraging our technological capabilities to bring more convenient tax refund solutions to outbound Alipay users.”
Since around 10,000 South Korea merchants accept the GTF service, it’s a safe bet that this will turn out welcome for those Chinese tourists. Alipay’s efforts to accommodate the Chinese tourist market have been massive just in the last few months; development after development has arisen to meet demands. Whether it’s new locations or new services, Alipay has pushed hard to be the service of choice with tourists, and seems to have delivered. Alipay needs those tourists, of course; with the Chinese mobile payments market fairly packed with competitors, Alipay needs to push to maintain its primacy going forward.
Alipay’s constant fight for market has paid off, and though it can’t simply rest on its laurels, its ongoing efforts to maintain its market and advance have given it an edge. This latest effort is just one more slice of proof that it’s doing quite well at that.