Korean health and beauty store operator Olive Young said Monday that it has partnered with Chinese mobile payment platform WeChat Pay to introduce it as a payment option here, as the number of Chinese tourists looking to pay via mobile apps grows.

According to the company, the number of Chinese tourists who paid via mobile applications from July 26 to Aug. 25 at its flagship store located in Myeong-dong, Seoul, increased by 45 percent compared to a year prior. 

The amount spent by Chinese visitors at the Myeong-dong store also went up by 27 percent on-year over the same period, it added. 

To promote Olive Young’s new payment option, Olive Young said it will run a pay-back campaign that offers a discount of 28 yuan ($3.90) when a Chinese customer spends more than 288 yuan via WeChat Pay. 

“As a leading K-beauty company, Olive Young will actively introduce services for the convenience of local and foreign customers,” said an Olive Young official. 

Olive Young currently offers mobile payment services at offline stores through Samsung Pay, LG Pay and Kakao Pay.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)