Printemps Department Store Springs For Alipay

There’s a payments-related spring awakening of some sort happening at French department store Printemps Haussmann. After becoming the first department store in the country to accept Alipay, Printemps will now be connected to the 450 million-plus Chinese users the payment platform already has aboard.

In news PYMNTS has been following, Alibaba and Alipay have been expanding the payment platform’s footprint and picking up the pace. Recently, Alipay announced a partnership with Verifone so that more Chinese consumers have a seamless shopping experience when visiting Europe.

Printemps’ intention is to offer a unique and exclusive shopping experience at 18 of its stores for those Chinese customers, especially those who frequent Paris for the sole purpose of shopping and spending money. Encouraging luxury purchases is at the top of Printemps’ list with this platform, especially with the use of QR codes. Ultimately, when visiting Paris, there is no need for these consumers to carry a single bill of cash.

The collaboration is made possible with Wirecard’s Connected POS technology and the capabilities allowed for Alipay and Printemps to work through a central management system.