vatfree.com vs OVpay

Thanks to a special EU-regulation, international travelers can claim the Value Added Tax paid over goods they have bought in the EU. We will help you get a VAT refund on your shopping in the European Union, even if you shop online. We make it easy, we ensure you get the highest refund possible and are here to help you claim what’s yours. We think it’s a shame that millions of euro are left unclaimed each year. Money which could be reinvested in yourself, in others or in the world. Why Vatfree.com? The Highest Refund Keep your receipts and save up to 25% on your shopping made in the EU. Rates differ per country. Refund of VAT is only possible when shopping at partner- and participating shops as EU regulation does not legally obligate shops to participate. Find a full list of participating stores in our taxfree shopping guide or in the vatfree.com mobile app. The Most Transparent We offer an inclusive service, every merchant or shop is welcome to join. Offering our tax-free shopping service next to other refund partners will give you more choice as we are the fastest growing mobile option with the highest refund guaranteed to the most diverse traveler groups. The most common feedback we get from travelers is that they feel uncomfortable being subjected to high fees for claiming back Value Added Tax they are entitled to. Especially after having to go through so much effort to arrange the refund. We get that. The regulation states that when exporting goods to a non-EU country, you do not have to pay VAT. For travelers to claim back the initial paid VAT, they have to stand in line at Customs, before flying back home, to get proof of the export. Quite stressful, time-consuming and sometimes leads to missing out if queues are long and you have to catch a plane. Once the stamp is collected, the only way to claim back VAT is to contact the shop. If the shop is unwilling to cooperate, charges high fees (with or without a tax-free partner) or just takes a long time to process it all, disappointing to say at least. Traditional tax-free companies charge fees varying from 35% to 60% of the VAT amount and are only an option if shops are affiliated. We decided to use modern technology to create an open platform for all shops to easily join, without necessary contracts, and to minimize costs so that we can continue to offer the highest possible refund. Our service fee starts at €2,50 per receipt with a maximum of €80. With this, we help travelers ánd stores as we believe a happy customer is a customer for life. Our mission is to help travelers easily shop tax-free at stores and brands that love them back. The Best in Mobile With airports requesting travelers to show up at least three hours before their flight, and safety procedures taking up a lot of time, most travelers have little time left to arrange to get a Customs validation stamp on their receipts. Standing in line at Customs may take up to half an hour or more. Being required to then stand in line at a desk for a cash refund, can increase the time of this entire process to an hour or more. Time is sparse so we built the first-ever tax-free shopping app in 2016, so travelers can finalize refund claims once they find a spare moment, on the plane home or in the comfort of their own house. The Most Diverse We are the first and only tax-free shopping service founded by travelers, specifically for travelers, with the main focus on travelers’ needs. Our service, therefore, ranges from helping a range of travelers from tourists, cruise passengers, military staff, expats and international students. We also are able to help travelers get back VAT over shopping made online, offline, cross-border, over purchases charged with low as well as high VAT rates at shops that are either listed in our shopping guide as well as not listed and new to us.

With OVpay, you can use your contactless card or phone to check in and out of Dutch public transport. This is the accompanying app—perfect for both seasoned travellers and first-timers. Meet the OVpay app: • Confirm check-ins and check-outs Not sure if you’ve checked in or out? Find out under ‘Journeys’. You can also opt to get a notification every time you check in or out. • Adjust missed check-ins or check-outs Forgotten to check in or out? No problem! You can adjust missed check-ins and check-outs in the app. Up to 60 days after your journey. • All journeys and travel costs in a one overview View all your journeys and travel costs from the past 18 months under ‘Journeys’. • Create travel expense overviews Send travel expense overviews to your employer straight from the app. Or have it email you a PDF. All you need to do is select the month and trips—the app will take care of the rest! • Add multiple cards You can now add up to 10 cards to the app. Give them a name and colour so you can easily keep them apart. Perfect if you use different cards for travel. • Add your age-based discount If you qualify for a 34% age-based discount, you can add it to your card. In the app, share your name, date of birth and a photo and you’re good to go. We’re always working to add new features. Keep an eye on our website, Instagram or Facebook for the latest news. About OVpay OVpay is a collaboration between Translink, all major Dutch banks, and Dutch public transport operators: Arriva, EBS, GVB, HTM, Keolis, NS, Qbuzz, RET, and Transdev. This is the accompanying app for OVpay. With OVpay, you can check in and out with your contactless card or phone instead of an OV-chipkaart. Privacy With OVpay, you choose how you want to check in and out. We need some of your personal details to make it work, but we believe you should be the one who decides how your details are used, and who uses them. Learn how we process and protect your personal details in your privacy statement (www.ovpay.nl/privacy).