Wirecard and National Bank of Greece Bring Alipay to Greece

MUNICH, April 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• Greek merchants will offer Alipay as a new payment method for Chinese tourists within the third quarter 2017 

As a leading provider of payment solutions and internet technology, Wirecard is now collaborating with National Bank of Greece (NBG) and is integrating Alipay into the technical infrastructure of Greece's largest bank as a new payment method.

As banks in Greece often provide local merchants with the entire terminal infrastructure, Wirecard has enabled NBG to integrate Alipay across the country in as many locations as possible. The aim is for most Greek merchants who operate in significant tourist attractions in the country to be able to offer Alipay as a new payment solution at the point of sale (POS) for their Chinese customers.

Greek islands and the capital Athens are particularly popular destinations for Chinese tourists. Thus, Greece has seen an increase of 400 per cent in Chinese tourists over the past five years, the stated goal of the Greek ministry of tourism is to welcome one million by the year 2021. With the new collaboration, Wirecard and the National Bank of Greece will provide them with their trusted payment method Alipay: over 450 million people in China use this mobile payment solution, making it the country's favourite. Chinese tourists can receive offers from local merchants via smartphone push notifications even while travelling by aeroplane to their respective holiday destination.

Nelly Tzakou-Lambropoulou, General Manager of Retail Banking at National Bank of Greece: "Tourists are one of the most important target groups for Greek merchants. With this in mind, we are particularly proud that we are in a position to allow merchants to offer a payment method trusted by Chinese customers. This has all been made possible by Wirecard's exclusive technical support and professionalism."

Jörn Leogrande, Executive Vice President Mobile Services at Wirecard, adds: "We are proud to implement our technology in NBG's payment processes. With this, we are enabling thousands of merchants to simultaneously offer Alipay as a new payment method for a financially strong target group. We believe that this, combined with the increasing number of Chinese tourists in Greece, will translate into a considerable sales potential for Greek merchants. Our aim is to work with financial institutions across Europe to integrate Alipay as an alternative mobile payment solution in as many till systems as possible."

Since December 2015, Wirecard has been offering the innovative POS payment concept to merchants across the whole of Europe via the Alipay App. Further information on Wirecard's Alipay solutions can be found at: https://www.wirecard.com/alipay/.

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 National Bank of Greece:  

National Bank of Greece was established in 1841 and was the first bank to be set up in the modern Greek state, making a decisive contribution to financial life during its 175 years of history. Nowadays, National Bank of Greece leads one of the largest and strongest financial groups in Greece, with a strong presence in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. National Bank of Greece offers a full portfolio of financial products and services that meet the ever-changing needs of businesses and individuals. It would be fair to describe it as the bank of the Greek family, since it controls a quarter of retail banking and has a 25% market share in deposits. This share of deposits reflects the trust of savings customers, which are its driving force. With 567 branches and 1,454 ATMs, it has an extensive service network covering the entire geographical area of Greece, while at the same time it is developing alternative distribution channels for its products, such as mobile and internet banking services. Today, the bank's network abroad includes 536 branches, while the group employs 20,057 staff (data as at 30.09.2016).

Wirecard media contact:
Wirecard AG
Jana Tilz
Tel.:  +49-(0)89-4424-1363
Email: jana.tilz@wirecard.com