BNP Paribas, the European bank, announced news on Wednesday (Nov. 8) that it is introducing WeChat Pay, a popular mobile payment solution in China, to retailers in France and subsequently across Europe.
In a press release, BNP Paribas said the move aims to support retailers that want to attract Chinese consumers. According to the European bank, each year nearly 7.4 million Chinese tourists visit Europe. With WeChat, BNP Paribas said it is moving ahead with its goal to enable retailers to offer international clients a better shopping experience.
More than 600 million Chinese consumers use WeChat Pay, noted BNP Paribas in the press release. The mobile payments platform will first be rolled out to two Paris stores owned by the Galeries Lafayette group — Galeries Lafayette Haussmann and BHV MARAIS.
“We’re delighted to be working with the Galeries Lafayette group to deploy the WeChat Pay solution. Once again, BNP Paribas is demonstrating its ability to innovate and to help our clients roll out their own innovations. We’re now offering the most comprehensive range of payment solutions on the market aimed at the Chinese customers of our retail sector clients,” said Pierre Fersztand, global head of Cash Management at BNP Paribas, in the press release.
BNP Paribas isn’t the only one that is embracing WeChat Pay, which is the payment unit of China internet giant Tencent. Tech giant Apple is also utilizing WeChat Pay, giving consumers in China more ways to pay for purchases.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, this past summer, Apple said in a statement that it is “committed to offering customers across our ecosystem a variety of payment options that are simple and convenient.”
Accepting WeChat Pay as a payment method is important for the Cupertino, California-based company, especially given that during the second quarter, the App Store earned more money in China than in any of its other markets around the world, reported WSJ, citing mobile analytics company App Annie.
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