ASCHHEIM, Germany, March 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Wirecard, one of the leading providers of digital financial technology, is expanding its collaboration with Qatar Airways by partnering with Qatar Duty Free (QDF) to offer Alipay as a mode of payment from April in selected QDF retail outlets at Hamad International Airport (HIA) in Doha for Chinese travelers. As a wholly owned retail subsidiary of Qatar Airways, QDF operates over 90 unique retail stores with over 185 points-of-sale (POS). After years of successful cooperation with Wirecard in the field of payment processing services since 2013, Qatar Airways and Wirecard have extended the partnership in order to capitalize on the worldwide tourism boom from China.
Due to its luxurious offerings and large brand portfolio, QDF is optimally positioned to attract Chinese tourists. Luxury goods such as handbags, shoes and apparel are the most in-demand products for Chinese travelers. By accepting Alipay payments, QDF is appealing to a large and fast-growing target group. With over 600 million active users in China, Alipay is the world's largest mobile payment network, sharing approximately 54.1% of China's mobile payment market by total transaction volume.
Qatar Airways operates daily flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, four times-weekly to Hangzhou, three times-weekly to Chongqing and Chengdu. Over the past few years, the Chinese outbound tourism in the State of Qatar has continuously increased, reaching 135 million travelers in 2016. Last year, the State of Qatar was granted Approved Destination Status (ADS) in China, allowing it to promote its tourism destinations within China. Recognizing this trend, Qatar Airways aims to offer its Chinese guests their familiar payment method.
Head of Qatar Duty Free Mr. Thabet Musleh, said: "HIA is a world-class shopping destination, and it's important to continue to provide our passengers with the best, most convenient shopping experience during their journey through the award-winning airport. The Chinese market is very important. Thanks to our strong partnership with Wirecard, we are able to keep these high standards and fulfil the needs of our Chinese customers by offering them their domestic payment method."
Robert Gottinger, Head of Airline Sales at Wirecard, commented: "We are delighted to increase our long-term collaboration with Qatar Airways and we are looking forward to continue expanding it in the future. By offering Alipay as a new payment method, Qatar Duty Free benefits from a whole marketing platform to target arriving passengers from China even better. Our experience through the collaboration with other airport retailers have shown that in the first three months since the launch of the new payment method, the average amount spent by Chinese tourists has increased by 92%."
Hamad International Airport (HIA), the home of Qatar Duty Free (QDF), was ranked the world's fourth 'Best Airport for Shopping' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2018 that took place in Stockholm on 21st March, up one place from last year. The Skytrax World Airport Awards are the most prestigious accolade for the airport industry, voted by customers in the largest annual global airport customer satisfaction survey.
About Wirecard:
Wirecard AG is a global technology group that supports companies in accepting electronic payments from all sales channels. As a leading independent supplier, the Wirecard Group offers outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payments. A global platform bundles international payment acceptances and methods with supplementary fraud prevention solutions. With regard to issuing own payment instruments in the form of cards or mobile payment solutions, the Wirecard Group provides companies with an end-to-end infrastructure, including the requisite licences for card and account products. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Securities Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE0007472060, WDI). For further information about Wirecard, please visit http://www.wirecard.com or follow us on twitter @wirecard.
About Qatar Airways:
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travelers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world's fastest-growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017/18, including Canberra, Australia; Penang, Malaysia and Cardiff, UK and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of more than 200 aircraft.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently named 'Airline of the Year' by the 2017 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organization Skytrax. It was also named 'World's Best Business Class', 'Best Airline in the Middle East', and 'World's Best First Class Airline Lounge'.
Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World's Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Oryx One, Qatar Airways' in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 4,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline's on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.
Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline's own brand message - Going Places Together.
Qatar Airways Cargo, the world's third largest international cargo carrier, serves more than 60 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally with more than 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes eight Airbus A330 freighters, 13 Boeing 777 freighters and two Boeing 747-8 freighters.
Wirecard media contact:
Wirecard AG
Jana Tilz
Tel: +49(0)89-4424-1363
E-Mail: jana.tilz@wirecard.com
Qatar Airways media contact:
Qatar Airways Group
Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974-4022-2200
