The number of new Hyundai Card users in South Korea rose by 75% from 116,000 in February to 203,000 in March following the launch of Apple Pay in the country on 21 March.

The number of offline merchants, franchises and retail chains in South Korea accepting Apple Pay has also increased from 32 at the time of launch to 110, while more than 2m subscription tokens have now been issued to Korean Apple Pay users, according to local media reports.

“Apple Pay surpassed 100 offline merchants within a month of landing in Korea. Despite the limitation of the limited NFC payment infrastructure in the initial stage of introduction, the number of users is rapidly increasing,” Korean media outlet ET News reports.

“According to the industry, there are currently 110 offline merchants in Korea that accept Apple Pay. This is an increase of 78 from the 32 offline affiliates Hyundai Card disclosed at the time of the first Apple Pay service on the 21st of last month. In terms of growth rate, the number of merchants that can pay with Apple Pay increased by 243% from the beginning.”

ET News also reports that Apple Pay is now available at six branded convenience stores across Korea, that the number of department store franchises accepting the service has risen from 2 to 12, while the number of Apple Pay-supporting supermarket franchises has risen from 3 to 10 and Apple Pay-supporting cafe chains from 6 to 19, “making it possible to pay with Apple Pay at virtually all cafes except Starbucks”.

“Recently, as GS Calex and E1 charging stations have joined Apple Pay merchants, the number of gas and charging stations is also rapidly increasing,” the report adds.

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