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INDUSTRY WATCH
web shop and supports all payment
methods offered by Apollo. In addition to
processing payments in accordance with
the requirements of PCI Security Standards,
all transactions undergo comprehensive AI-
based risk management checks such as fraud
detection and 3D Secure.
Mike Webster, Senior Vice President and
General Manager, Oracle Retail
transactions for Apollo in the background
and enables customers to conveniently and
flexibly order and pay for their spectacle
frames, contact lenses and other products
online, and have them delivered either
to their home or to the Apollo branch of
their choice. Wirecard is thus driving the
digitalisation of the optics industry and
supporting Apollo in expanding its unified
commerce business.
With annual sales of €63 billion in 2018
and having grown by nearly 10% over the
previous year, the e-Commerce market in
Germany is of great importance for brands
such as Apollo. The Wirecard solution
integrates seamlessly into the existing
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INTELLIGENTCIO
“We not only help Apollo to develop its online
business, but also to reach its customers
across all touchpoints,” said Christian Reindl,
EVP Retail and Consumer Goods at Wirecard.
“We want to enable an optimal online
experience. This includes the online ordering
and payment process, as well as delivery to
the customer’s selected location. Wirecard is
Apollo’s digital financial technology partner.
We understand the demands of unified
commerce and help to optimise processes.
With our customised solution, we ensure a
smooth and efficient payment process and
offer the kind of checkout that customers
expect from a modern online shop.”
Wirecard is also offering its payment
solution to enable Alipay payments for
high-fashion brand, Karen Millen, at the
POS and online shop. As a result of the
cooperation, Karen Millen stores in Europe
can now accept China’s leading mobile
payment solution. The fully digital solution
is smoothly integrated into the retailer’s
existing payment infrastructure via the
Wirecard ePOS App, which can be used via
any mobile device operating Android or
iOS. Online shoppers will benefit from the
cooperation too, as they will also be able to
pay with Alipay.
Karen Millen has over 400 stores and
shop-in-shop stores in 63 countries on
six continents. The brand has made
a name for itself globally with strong
international sales and is present in the
most prestigious fashion cities, including
London, Paris, Madrid, New York, L.A and
Hong Kong.
Vanda Astfäller, Head of Sales Consumer
Goods at Wirecard, said: “Alipay is not
just a payment method – it’s a digital
platform for retailers to reach out to
Chinese visitors. We are pleased to be
collaborating with Karen Millen to enable
Chinese travellers in Europe to use their
preferred payment method, providing
a seamless purchasing process for both
the retailer and the customer, and look
forward to developing our cooperation.”
With over 1 billion users, Alipay is one
of the world’s leading mobile payment
platforms. Retailers that integrate
Alipay payments into their POS are
capitalising on the opportunity to
market to one of the world’s most
affluent target groups. In fact, a 2019
report by Nielsen found that 93% of
Chinese tourists would be more willing
to spend more while travelling if a
larger number of merchants accepted
mobile payments. The solution is
especially attractive for retailers:
shopping remains the consumption
category Chinese tourists spend the
most on while travelling, comprising
25% of on-location spending. n
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