Nium and utu unlock cash and other rewards for shoppers

By leveraging Nium’s global payments platform, utu aims to unlock more of the VAT refund than previously possible. By choosing to designate their refund to the utu Tax Free Card, travellers can now upsize their VAT refund value by 25% if their refund is delivered in Frequent Flyer Miles from a choice of 15 major airlines or gain a 5% upsize if they prefer their refund in cash.

Tax free shopping is available in 50 countries across the globe, including France, Italy, Germany, Singapore, South Korea and the UAE. It allows travellers to claim back the Value-Added Tax (VAT) for purchases in countries they visit. 

By the time a refund is processed by VAT Refund Operators, shoppers only receive between 45% to 65% of the total value of the VAT refund they are owed. This fact, coupled with queues at airport tax refund desks and a refund process that includes handwritten forms and emails, has led travellers to reevaluate the value of the perk.