SAN FRANCISCO, July 2 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-based mobile payment solution provider Citcon is expanding its business into Europe to bring popular Chinese mobile e-wallets there with an eye on growing Chinese tourists, the company said Tuesday.
Citcon has set out a plan to facilitate European merchants to increasingly adopt some of the most popular Chinese mobile payment tools such as WeChat Pay, Alipay and China UnionPay that are currently used by hundreds of millions of Chinese customers, said Arlene Go, a Citcon official responsible for marketing communications.
European merchants can now take advantage of additional revenue streams from Chinese travelers, who are now the largest spenders and the fastest-growing traveler segment in Europe, according to the company headquartered in Santa Clara, California.
"Chinese tourism is booming in Europe and we are proud to promote a smart lifestyle by providing travelers access to the digital wallets they prefer," said Chuck Huang, Citcon founder and CEO.
Huang said the surging influx of Chinese tourists into Europe in recent years has presented an opportunity for retailers in the region to "offer the lifestyle that travelers demand."
Citcon is a cross-border mobile payment and commerce solution provider and a partner of Alipay and WeChat Pay in North America.
In March this year, it already helped the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco launch electronic payment for its consular services including passport and visa processing for Chinese customers who are accustomed to doing transactions with WeChat Pay or Alipay back in China.
Citcon said its transaction volume and merchant base has grown 10 times since its founding in 2015.
The company hopes to expand to 50,000 merchant partnerships across all major metropolitan cities in the United States, Canada and Europe by the end of 2019.
