Apple Pay to Launch in South Korea This Year Following Regulator Approval

[MacRumors]

After years of discussions with local authorities, Apple Pay in South Korea has been approved by the financial regulator, paving the way for the mobile payment system to launch in the first half of this year (via The Korea Herald).

"Having taken into consideration relevant rules and regulations and their interpretations, we confirm that credit card companies can push for the introduction of the Apple Pay service as they have obeyed necessary procedures," the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said in a release.

The FSC emphasized that credit card firms should not transfer fees arising from the use of Apple Pay to customers or shops, while calling for measures to ensure customer protection from such risks as the theft of personal information.

Market watchers initially expected the service to be launched late last year. But according to the report, experts now say that Apple Pay could be launched in the middle of the first half of this year.

Initial discussions on bringing Apple's digital payment system to the country began way back in 2017, but Apple struggled to gain registration as an electronic financial business operator while regulators investigated whether Apple Pay runs counter to local regulations and laws.

Negotiations around a possible launch also hit technical roadblocks because of South Korea's lack of wide NFC terminal adoption in retail stores at the time.

Adoption has increased since then, although the preponderance of Samsung smartphones in the country has allowed Samsung Pay to become the dominant payment method, therefore the launch of Apple Pay is expected to strengthen competition in the local mobile payment market.

Ever since its launch in the United States in 2014, ‌Apple Pay‌ has slowly expanded to more countries worldwide while at the same time expanding the list of financial institutions that support the feature. With ‌Apple Pay‌, users can easily add their credit or debit cards from supported banks to their iPhone and Apple Watch to make purchases at contactless payment terminals around the world. ‌Apple Pay‌ is also available on the Mac for web purchases.

Article Link: Apple Pay to Launch in South Korea This Year Following Regulator Approval

 

[senttoschool]

Loving the 2% cash back when using Apple Pay with Apple's credit card. Sometimes my Chase Sapphire Reserve only has 1%, so I switch to Apple Pay with the Goldman Sachs card.

 

[boak]

Will Apple Pay really strengthen competition?

Isn’t it just up to what phones customers are using?

 

[fatTribble]

Always happy to see Apple Pay expanded to other countries!
One of my favorite features! 🥳

 

[syklee26]

This is a game changer in Korea. Samsung has had a decisive advantage over iphone in terms of marketing due to Samsung Pay (vs. no Apple Pay) and call recording (vs. no recording on iPhone). A lot of younger generation clamored for Apple Pay, and now more people will come. This is a huge win for Apple in Korean market.

 

[lesnouu]

That's a W for Koreans. In my country we used to have Apple Pay and everyone got so accustomed to it, but now do not have it and it's a pain in a back. Banks now have to produce NFC stickers which would be put on the back of the phones and imitate that experience.

 

[Robert.Walter]

That's a W for Koreans. In my country we used to have Apple Pay and everyone got so accustomed to it, but now do not have it and it's a pain in a back. Banks now have to produce NFC stickers which would be put on the back of the phones and imitate that experience.

Where is this? When did you get Apple Pay and when was it dropped? Was it explained why?

 

[DelayedGratificationGene]

I absolutely love Apple Pay. It’s as big a jump as going from cash to Cc. It’s barter, cash, credit cards and now Apple Pay

 

[Robert.Walter]

IOW: Unfair competition barrier benefiting home team falls.

 

[Cristim74]

Where is this? When did you get Apple Pay and when was it dropped? Was it explained why?

Most likely Russia. It was suspended in March 2022 due to the war with Ukraine.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Most likely Russia. It was suspended in March 2022 due to the war with Ukraine.

Agreed. But in case not was wondering where.

 

[coffeemilktea]

Born too late to explore the seas, born too early to explore the stars, born just in time to pay for spicy KBBQ with my phone. What a time to be alive. 😋🌶️

 

[riverfreak]

Awesome news. Can’t come soon enough. Bibimbap me.

Interesting that they are moving to prevent credit card companies from transferring Apple Pay fees to consumers. Transferring of credit card fees to consumers is already widespread now and extremely annoying.

 

[nutmac]

I was in South Korea few weeks ago and many merchants have NFC EMV terminal, such as the convenience stores and shopping malls. I was able to use my Apple Pay credit cards just fine.

However, because Samsung Pay emulates the magnetic stripes, many more haven't upgraded their terminal.

 

[atomic.flip]

This is actually huge news. South Korea has extremely limited competition in their banking market. It will be good for South Koreans. But likely piss off Samsung and others who also play in the space endlessly.

 

[Apple fan from Korea]

Finally. 🎉

 

[NFCelevtech]

I wonder if there’s any E-money/transit card in Korea launching alongside credit card support for Apple Pay in Korea. No Korean metro system supports EMV Contactless as a transit ticket.

 

[suburbanpuma]

Meanwhile, Apple Pay in Chile has been "coming soon" for more than a year. Just now they adapted the POS terminals to the current standards... Transbank will be the end of me.

 

[echopulse]

Good news. Love to see Apple Pay expanding.

 

[svish]

Good to know. Hopefully Apple Pay launches in other countries too in the near future.

 

[realeric]

North Korea has military barriers. South Korea has economic barriers. It's very difficult to do something with them.

 

[East India Company]

Hopefully there will soon be a virtual T-Money card for public transportation like the virtual Suica in Japan. Been waiting for this for a loooonnng time

 

[_Spinn_]

I love using Apple Pay. I’m glad to see it expanding to other countries.