This will be possible thanks to the agreement signed by the Italian company and Tencent Trusted Partner Digital Retex and DOCOMO Digital, the European subsidiary of the digital payment global provider NTT Docomo.
In a few weeks, Chinese tourists visiting Italy will be able to easily purchase their goods both online and in-store through the dedicated app on their smartphones.
Chinese consumers use WeChat for payment purposes and made more than 1 million transactions per minute in 2017. Merchants can have either a dedicated POS or add WeChat Pay to the till systems, while customers will only need a smartphone and a WeChat account connected to their bank account to pay via the scan of a QR code. The code will open the digital wallet in the app and enable the transaction in Chinese currency. A click and a verification code are all that is needed to execute the transaction, the merchant will receive the amount in EUR.
With more than 980 million monthly active users and a market penetration of 93% in the largest cities, WeChat is not only a social media, but also a multi-service platform to surf on the internet, purchase goods and pay online.
The service aims at reaching all retailers, from the luxury, fashion and design industries, which account for 60% of Chinese purchases, to hospitality and entertainment (restaurants, hotels, museums, theme parks), all looking for a very easy and friendly way for Chinese customers to pay their goods.
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