Our Story

Global Blue is the pioneer and leader in Tax Free Shopping, present in 45 countries. Since 2025, Global Blue is part of Shift4 Payments Group.

Global Blue's Story

At Global Blue, creating engaging experiences that foster connections between our partners and their consumers is at the heart of our services.

Our story started over 40 years ago when we pioneered the concept of Tax Free Shopping.

The birth of modern Tax Free Shopping (August 4, 1980)
The first passengers from Sweden to Germany received VAT refunds in cash when presenting their purchases at Customs
Global Blue expands outside Sweden throughout the 1980s
Global Blue launches in neighboring Scandinavian countries and then in France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom

Global Blue accelerated its European expansion
Operations open in Italy, Spain, Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland, among others
International refund network served travelers upon departure as EU dropped borders between member states
Business expanded beyond Europe for the first time
Operations launched in Singapore in 1993
Refunded eight million travelers per year by 1999

Global Blue Payments (fka Currency Choice, the Dynamic Currency Conversion Service) launched in 2001
Tax Free Shopping and Dynamic Currency Conversion operations launched over 15 new markets throughout Europe and Asia

Launched Intelligence business in 2011
Became world leader in digital Tax Free Shopping with the launch of an Electronic Tax Free Shopping (eTFS)
Tax Free Shopping operations launched in Japan and Uruguay in 2012
Tax Free Shopping operations launched in the Bahamas and China in 2016

Global Blue listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 2020
Significant expansion into the Post-Purchase business, with the creation of Global Blue Ventures and the ZigZag (2021), Yocuda (2021) and Shipup (2022)
Launch of Payment Gateway, an omnichannel payment gateway
Continuous innovation in Tax Free Shopping, with the deployment of Global Blue cloud-based integration solution, and innovative BI and Digital Marketing Solutions
New country or region openings in Russia (2018), Serbia (2019), Kazakhstan (2019), Colombia (2022), Peru (2023), Jersey (2025), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2025)
Acquisition by Shift4 in 2025 (All payment solutions previously offered by Global Blue are now provided under Shift4).