Barcelona deal with StarPay allows Asian tourists to pay with their own apps

Barcelona Comerç association has struck a deal with StarPay, a payment service provider, to make it possible for Asian tourists to pay using their own apps. 

StarPay allows European businesses to receive payments in euros through their phone with applications that aren't used in Europe. 

Chinese tourists are the biggest spenders and will now be able to shop and pay without the need for currency exchange or additional authorization. 

This deal includes payment apps Alipay and Wechat Pay from China, Kakao Pay from South Korea and Pay Pay from Japan. They are the most popular payment apps in Asia with more than 1.26 billion users. 

Promotion of local businesses 

The alliance allows the "promotion" of businesses in the neighborhoods of Barcelona "with apps that are in common use among Chinese visitors, bringing benefits from this medium-high purchasing power tourism into the neighborhoods," Pròsper Puig, president of Barcelona Comerç association, said in a press release. 

A virtual City Card will be created, with a search engine for businesses and promotions in shops and tourist attractions. There will also be cultural and public transport discounts on the app. 

Users can receive recommendations for cultural, gastronomic and tourist activities while visiting Barcelona. 

The goal of the deal is to offer Asian visitors tourist routes through Barcelona, alternatives to the usual tourist itineraries. 

Chinese tourism impact 

The impact of Chinese tourism is big. In fact, they are the tourists who spend the most. On average they have spent €3,106 per person during the first half of 2023, €700 more than before the pandemic. 

These tourists are very digitally centered, but commonly used tools in the West, such as WhatsApp, Instagram or Facebook, are not very accessible to them. 

To reach their market, businesses have to use their applications, such as WeChat, Alipay, Douyin, Weibo and RED. 

Making it easier to receive payments from Asian customers allows "Barcelona's businesses to make a qualitative leap in their internationalization," StarPay's founder, Javier Castrillo, said in the press release.