Alipay claimed to have launched the world’s first paperless tax refund service, enabling Chinese tourists visiting South Korea to receive rebates through its mobile payments app.

In a statement, Alipay said it partnered with reimbursement agency Global Tax Refund (GTF) to allow Chinese tourists to apply for, and claim, rebates via their phones rather than at dedicated sites in cities and airports.

After tourists scan their passports at self-service kiosks when departing South Korea, they can use the Alipay app to scan eligible tax receipts within 90 days of making a purchase and then receive refunds immediately.

The move follows the introduction of Alipay’s real-time tax refund service in Europe in early 2017, enabling users to receive rebates to their Alipay accounts after scanning an Alipay QR code at airport tax counters.

Danny Chung, general manager at Alipay Korea said the company had explored ways to expedite tax refunds for Chinese tourists since 2013: “With this unique new function, Alipay users can skip the queues and process tax refunds on their mobiles, without filling out and submitting paperwork.”

“We look forward to working with our partners and leveraging technological capabilities to bring more convenient tax refund solutions to outbound Alipay users.”

Approximately 10,000 merchants in South Korea support the GTF tax refund service, said Alipay, and the companies added they plan to expand the service to more merchants and additional countries in Asia in the future.