CITCON Expands to Europe, Offering Merchants a Commerce Solution That Promotes The Smart Lifestyle Chinese Travelers Prefer
Company Builds Upon Momentous Growth In the First Half of 2019
SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 1, 2019 — CITCON, the leading cross-border mobile payment, and commerce solution provider, today announced its European expansion. CITCON offers European merchants a comprehensive cross-border commerce solution that promotes the smart lifestyle that Chinese travelers prefer. European merchants can now take advantage of additional revenue streams from Chinese travelers, who are currently the largest spenders and the fastest-growing traveler segment in Europe. CITCON is the market leader in QR-based cross-border mobile payment and marketing solutions, connecting global merchants with billions of Chinese consumers across the retail, hospitality, and e-commerce segments. CITCON integrates all forms of payments, featuring Alipay, WeChat Pay, and China UnionPay, the dominant payment methods for over one billion Chinese consumers.
CITCON also announced that Jean Kany will expand his role of Vice President and General Manager, Retail North America to Vice President and Head of Global Enterprise Retail. Mr. Kany will lead CITCON in business development, strategic planning, and revenue growth to penetrate the retail space for both offline and online mobile payments. In addition, CITCON appointed seasoned business executive Nigel Stone as the Head of U.K. Operations. With over 25 years of experience in the travel and entertainment sectors, electronic payments, and co-branding, Mr. Stone will lead the company into its next phase of growth in the U.K. Prior to CITCON, Mr. Stone held senior-level positions at Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. Mr. Stone will contribute to CITCON’s cross-border payments initiatives, revenue generation, business development, and results measurements in the U.K.
“Chinese tourism is booming in Europe and we are proud to promote a smart lifestyle by providing travelers with access to the digital wallets they prefer,” said Chuck Huang, CITCON founder, and CEO. “This has presented an opportunity for European merchants to offer the lifestyle that travelers demand, especially luxury brands, looking to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the influx of tourists. With Jean’s extensive industry knowledge of the payments industry and cross-border commerce, we are confident that he will continue to play a key role in driving CITCON’s success in the EU. We also welcome Nigel to our leadership team and look forward to his contributions in the U.K.”
CITCON’s European expansion builds upon what has been a momentous year for the company so far. Over the past six months, CITCON has experienced exponential growth forming strategic partnerships with merchants including Duty-Free Americas (DFA), the largest duty-free operator in the Americas.
“DFA is always looking for ways to better serve our customers by, among other things, staying on the forefront of technology,” stated Milton Chiz, DFA’s Chief Information Officer. “We are excited about partnering with CITCON to bring Alipay and WeChat Pay as additional payment solutions for the benefit of our customers. We have seen the tremendous growth factor made possible by such payment solutions, and our partnership with CITCON has made the process seamless and efficient.”
CITCON’s transaction volume and merchant base has grown 10 times and is expected to reach 50,000 merchant partnerships by the end of 2019 across all major metropolitan cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe. In April 2019, CITCON secured $5M in funding from East West Bank, a wholly owned subsidiary of East West Bancorp (NASDAQ: EWBC), bringing the total financing to $15 million to date. CITCON also received the “Excellent Service Award 2018” from WeChat Pay at the WeChat Pay Overseas Partner Conference 2019 “One for Billion.” CITCON was the only payment partner in the US market recognized for its outstanding solutions and services, enabling merchants to connect with over
1 billion Chinese consumers. CITCON’s vision is to transform the multi-trillion-dollar digital payment system into an omnichannel mobile payment and commerce system on a global scale. CITCON will continue to support merchant efforts to connect with Chinese tourists and boost business growth.
About CITCON
CITCON is a cross-border mobile payment and commerce solution leader, enabling merchants to accept QR-based mobile wallets in-store and online on a global scale. Among the payment options supported by CITCON, Alipay, WeChat Pay, and China UnionPay are the most popular, with over one billion active consumers. On top of payments, CITCON allows merchants to run marketing and loyalty campaigns through its partner network. Trusted by thousands of merchants in North America and Europe to reach millions of merchant locations, CITCON offers solutions that drive omnichannel commerce growth in a variety of industries ranging from retail, e-commerce, hotel, food and beverage, transportation, entertainment, and education. CITCON was founded in 2015 by Chuck Huang, a serial entrepreneur and payment veteran with over a decade of experience in both the U.S. and China. The company has received US$15M in venture funding from leading institutional investors in Silicon Valley and China. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, CITCON has been featured in Fortune, Nielsen Report, Nikkei Asian Review, and Tencent News, and has received multiple awards, including the TEDGE 2017 Startup Award and the only 2019 Excellent Service Award from WeChat for the North American market. Keep up-to-date with CITCON on LinkedIn. For more information, visit citcon.com.