China’s top two mobile payment platforms are facing off to capture the $30 billion market in unclaimed travel spending tax refunds.
Few companies have focused on this ‘hidden’ economy and travelers themselves are losing out on reclaiming tax refunds due to the laborious paperwork involved at airports.
A recent study by Taxback International estimates up to $30 billion is going unclaimed annually in VAT refunds.
Fierce rivals Alipay and WeChat Pay are competing to offer streamlined paperless refund services to Chinese tourists.
The Alipay mobile app lets users scan their tax refund receipts within 90 days via the app to receive instant refunds.
"This will both save time and make it easier to claim funds … and skip in-city and airport tax refund counters," said Danny Chung, general manager of Alipay Korea.
Meanwhile WeChat Pay has partnered with Swiss firm Global Blue to offer instant tax refunds for Chinese tourists departing from Madrid airport.
It is part of the We Tax Refund service which refunds back to a WeChat wallet, and is currently available so far at abut 85 airports.
WeChat is also exploring tech to offer instant refunds in stores overseas. Last year Chinese nationals made nearly 150 million outbound trips, up nearly 15 percent.
