Plaza Premium Group becomes the first independent travel lounge to accept Alipay mobile payments in the UK at London’s Heathrow Airport

Multiple Plaza Premium lounges at London’s Heathrow Airport are now accepting mobile payments via the Alipay app using Zapper’s QR code technology. This exciting partnership will enable Chinese passengers to use their mobiles for secure, cashless and extremely convenient payments whilst travelling.

Li Wang, head of Alipay EMEA, said, “Heathrow Airport is definitely one of the most popular airports among Chinese tourists travelling to Europe. Working with Zapper’s technology, the target is to bring our users a seamless payment experience whether it’s when they are shopping, eating out or just looking for a quiet place to relax whilst travelling.”

Alipay launched in China in 2004 and is one of the world’s leading mobile payment systems with over 520 million active users in China. It provides a secure way for users to pay either when shopping, travelling or eating out. Recent surveys show 85% of mobile payments in China are currently made by scanning a QR code. Therefore to keep the customer journey as seamless as possible, users simply scan a QR code on a digital tablet, powered by Zapper technology, to gain access to the Plaza Premium lounges.

With introductory offers available on the Alipay app discovery platform, Chinese passengers are able to search & then pay with the app to access their nearest Plaza Premium lounge. Conveniently located in arrivals and / or departures in terminals two, three, four and five, the lounges include free wifi, quiet and comfortable seating areas, full hot / cold buffet and stocked bar (for an extra supplement, bedrooms and spa treatments are also available). These luxury lounges are the perfect place to gain much needed R&R when flying around the world.

Amin Amin, general manager at Plaza Premium Group in the UK said: “As Alipay grows throughout Europe and the UK, we are extremely proud to be the first independent lounge group to offer Alipay payments at London Heathrow Airport. We have a strong desire to do be one step ahead of our competitors, always striving to give our customers the ultimate travel lounge experience.”He also commented, “Alipay is a slick and convenient way of paying for our services as more and more passengers look for mobile alternatives to avoid carrying a variety of cash currencies for each destination they visit.”

Partnered with Alipay in 2016, Zapper app also accepts mobile payments and loyalty using QR code technology. It has adapted its solution to enable Alipay users travelling to the UK the ability to scan the same QR code to make quick and secure payments via the Alipay app.

Ben Walker, commercial director for Zapper UK added: “We’re delighted to strengthen our partnership with Alipay by facilitating their launch into the Plaza Premium Lounges at London’s Heathrow Airport. The only independent lounges to accept Alipay in the UK, this will enable Chinese tourists travelling both to, from and via London the opportunity to pay and gain entry using their Alipay app. By offering a home-from-home payment experience, Zapper’s QR code solution is the ideal way to enable Alipay users to pay quickly and securely for goods and services when travelling.”

Alipay is already a popular payment method within the travel industry with many airlines and airports across the world already accepting the app such as; Aeroflot, Vanilla Air and Emirates.  Alipay is associated with the following card payment methods; Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

For more information about Plaza Premium Lounges visit https://www.plaza-network.com/ and to sign up for an Alipay account visit www.intl.alipay.com