Apple Pay available in Korea in pilot from Wednesday: Reports

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Apple Pay available in Korea in pilot from Wednesday: Reports

Shoppers walk by an Apple Store in Jamsil, southern Seoul, on Sept. 25, 2022. [NEWS1]

Shoppers walk by an Apple Store in Jamsil, southern Seoul, on Sept. 25, 2022. [NEWS1]

 
Apple Pay will be available in Korea on a limited basis from Wednesday in a pilot roll out, according to local reports.
 
It has entered into an agreement with Hyundai Card so that the service can be used at a number of chains and large stores, including Starbucks and Costco, the press reports said and advertisements suggest. Advertisements around Seoul could be seen specifying that Apple Pay will be live in Korea from Nov. 30.
 
Online payments using Apple Pay are expected to start on Nov. 30, while offline payments will become available at the end of December, according to local reports.
 
Neither Apple nor Hyundai Card confirmed the reports. 
 
Unlike Samsung Pay, which supports magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology, Apple Pay requires near field communication (NFC) technology to make payments possible. The domestic NFC distribution rate on mobile phones is only 5 percent.
 
IT professionals are predicting that Apple Pay will become available in stores and franchises where NFC technology has already been made available.
 
This includes franchises such as Starbucks, Costco, convenience stores, such as GS25 and CU, and large marts, such as E-Mart. Starbucks in particular is being given attention as it is the franchise most likely to welcome a large number of Apple Pay users, with younger people, including early adapters of new technologies, prone to frequenting Starbucks and memes spreading the concept of a MacBook as a “Starbucks Pass.”
 
Ediya Coffee, a domestic coffee chain, is also seen as a candidate for Apple Pay users to visit, as the company announced earlier this month that its payment systems and kiosks will switch to adapt to NFC technology.
 
An advertisement inside a taxi in Seoul showing the launch date of Apple Pay on Nov. 30 in partnership with Hyundai Card. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

An advertisement inside a taxi in Seoul showing the launch date of Apple Pay on Nov. 30 in partnership with Hyundai Card. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

 
Lotte Hi-Mart, Apple’s official reseller, is also expected to support Apple Pay after its launch. Lotte Hi-Mart could not give an official statement, but “Apple Pay Only” signs were seen in several Lotte Hi-Mart stores around Seoul on Tuesday, according to local media reports.
 
If Apple Pay spreads in Korea after the pilot launch, not only Samsung Pay but also the sale of Galaxy smartphones will be affected, according to industry insiders. Samsung Pay, launched in 2015, was considered a so-called “lock-in strategy” to keep consumers tied to its services and the Galaxy smartphones, and a key weapon to hold onto the domestic consumer base.
 
Apple’s share in the Korean smartphone market has already been on the rise, according to market tracker Counterpoint Research. Its share rose from 16.6 percent in 2019 to 24.4 percent last year. The launch of Apple Pay will further enhance the status of iPhones in Korea, according to industry insiders.
 
Samsung Electronics recently started expanding its marketing strategy ahead of the launch of Apple Pay. Following the application of drivers’ license verification to use Samsung Pay on Nov. 3, advertisements for Samsung Pay were resumed earlier this month for the first time in three years.
 

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]
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