The South Korean parliament has passed a bill that will require companies such as Apple and Google to allow the use of payment services other than their own proprietary systems for the purchase of digital goods within their app stores... More
Samsung Pay begins funds trading service — Yonhap News — “Fund Online Korea Co said Tuesday it launched services for the trading of investment funds via Samsung Pay, the country’s top mobile payment tool. The service allowed users to shop for a variety of funds at the Samsung Pay platform after a simple process of opening accounts, according to the firm. ‘We are aiming at offering an easy, convenient and accessible investment channel,’ said company official Kim Seung-hyun.”
Central bank to develop settlement service to expand mobile cash card payment — Yonhap News — “The South Korean central bank said Tuesday that it will adopt a new mobile cash card settlement service starting next year in a bid to expand simplified mobile payments in the country. A council on financial information by the Bank of Korea (BOK) and local banks decided to develop technological standards and a mobile application for the new service that enables sellers to receive money directly from the buyer’s bank account.”
Samsung stops loading mobile payment tool on budget phones — Yonhap News — “Samsung Electronics Co recently stopped embedding its mobile payment system, Samsung Pay, in budget smartphones, industry watchers said Sunday, apparently to save costs by excluding the feature, which has been less popular among teens and senior users… ‘As it costs roughly 5,000 won (US$4.50) per device to apply Samsung Pay, (the company) is apparently seeking to cut production costs by excluding the feature,’ an industry watcher said.”
Samsung Pay’s monthly Android users hit nearly 7m mark in Feb — Yonhap News — “Some 6.94m users of Android-powered smartphones used Samsung Pay at least once last month… Samsung Pay use was centered during lunch times, with those in their 30s and 40s accounting for 28% and 27%, respectively. The corresponding number for those in their 20s stood at 20%.”
Starbucks to test cashless stores in S Korea — Yonhap News — “Starbucks Coffee Korea Co, the local unit of the US coffee giant, said Thursday it will begin a test run of cashless stores at three outlets next month amid rising use of credit card and mobile payment systems… It will mark the second trial for the global coffee giant, following its first cashless store under test run in Seattle.”
Kakao Pay’s blockchain-based authentication boasts 1m users — Yonhap News — “Users of KakaoTalk, South Korea’s top mobile messenger, can use the authentication service on the mobile messenger without having to download an application. A total of 20 institutions and companies, including insurer AIA Life Korea and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, use the service, Kakao Pay said, adding that it plans to expand the service.”
LG to launch mobile payment system in US by June — Yonhap — “LG Electronics Inc said Tuesday it will launch its mobile payment system in the United States during the first half of this year in time with the release of its upcoming mobile phone… Based on the Wireless Magnetic Communication technology, LG Pay allows users to make payments by touching their smartphones to regular credit card devices… LG said it is considering launching its mobile payment system as LG Wallet in the US.”
Samsung Pay boasts 6.44m users in September — Yonhap News Agency — “According to the data compiled by industry tracker WiseApp on Android users, the number of Samsung Pay users in September was double the 3.22 million users posted a year earlier. The figure is based on the number of people who used the application at least once a month.”
LG’s mobile chief confident of payment tool — Yonhap News — “The head of LG Electronics Inc’s mobile business said Wednesday the company plans to release its mobile payment platform LG Pay overseas in the future, expressing strong confidence over the service… LG Electronics said 38.4% of the tool’s users were in their 30s as of end June, while the number of those in their 50s and 60s was quickly increasing.”
7 in 10 mobile payment users cite security concerns: report — Yonhap News — “Nearly seven out of 10 South Koreans using mobile payment services cited security concerns… According to the report by market researcher DMC Media, 68.8% of the users were satisfied with using financial services via mobile platforms… 88% of the adults had used some sort of mobile payment tool in the past six months, up 8.8% from a survey conducted a year earlier.”
The South Korean government is set to approve a service that will enable consumers to authenticate mobile payments by tapping a contactless card on the back of their NFC phone... More
Samsung and Chinese internet giant Alibaba are to announce a collaboration on mobile payment systems this week, according to Yonhap News Agency... More
One in six South Korean consumers (15.8%) have used a mobile to pay for in-store or online purchases, research by The Bank of Korea shows... More
South Korea’s Woori Bank has begun accepting Samsung Pay... More
Korean internet portal Naver is to introduce a mobile payments platform from June that will let users verify themselves using fingerprint recognition and make payments using their Naver ID, a password, the mobile number of the recipient and either a credit or debit card... More
Samsung’s version of Apple Pay is now live in China, Korea’s Yonhap news agency reports... More