Apple Pay goes live in South Korea

Apple Pay on iphone and apple watch in South Korea
APPLE PAY: South Koreans can now add their credit or debit card to the Wallet app on their iPhone

Apple Pay has launched in South Korea with support for Mastercard, Visa and local debit and credit cards issued by Hyundai Card.

Apple has added the country to its list of territories where the service is available and confirms on a support page in Korean that iPhone and Apple Watch users can use the service to make in-store payments “in many places that support NFC technology” as well as for online payments from Apple devices.

Merchants in South Korea accepting in-store payments made using Apple Pay include Hyundai Department Store, Ikea, outlets and franchises owned by retail giant Lotte, as well as convenience store chains GS25, CU and 7-Eleven.

Food and beverage outlets McDonald’s, Lotteria, Shake Shack, Krispy Kreme, Paris Baguette, Blue Bottle Coffee, Baskin Robbins, Gong Cha and Ediya Coffee, as well as electronics stores LG Best Shop, Willys and Frisbee plus the Grand Hyatt Seoul and Conrad Seoul hotels are also now accepting Apple Pay, according to the support page.

To date, Hyundai Card is the only card issuer in South Korea to add support for Apple Pay.

Reports that Apple Pay would go live in South Korea in the following months emerged in February following a decision by the country’s Financial Services Commission to allow card issuers to add support for Apple Pay.

Apple Pay began a limited pilot rollout in November 2022, enabling consumers in South Korea to make online payments using the service.

Apple Pay went live in Malaysia and Qatar in August 2022 and in Kuwait in October the same year.

• NFCW maintains a list of major OEM Pay systems and the territories where they are live and available for public use.

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