Kakao Pay dismisses Apple Pay's impact on transactions

Kakao Pay CEO Shin Won-keun speaks at a press conference held in Yeouido, western Seoul, Monday. [KAKAOPAY]

Apple Pay hasn’t had much impact on Kakao Pay since its launch in March, according to Kakao Pay on Monday.

“Total offline transactions at Kakao Pay haven’t changed much following the launch of Apple Pay,” said Baek Seung-jun, a chief business officer at Kakao Pay at a press conference held in Yeouido, western Seoul. “Most of the major franchises that accept Apple Pay also accept Kakao Pay,” he added while admitting that Apple Pay is “a strong competitor.”

Kakao Pay offers simple payment and online brokerage services, among other things.

The press event was held Monday to announce the company’s plans for 2023. They included Kakao Pay's development into a platform that annually processes more than 10 billion transactions within three years, up more than three-fold from the current figure.

Kakao Pay is seeking mergers and acquisitions with firms that can create “clear synergy effects” with the company, its CEO Shin Won-keun said. “We’ll look for companies that own technologies and services that we need to secure.”

The company is expanding overseas payment services, including in Germany, U.K. and Australia.

It is also building a system that supports overseas payment operators at its affiliated stores in Korea, said Kakao Pay. Partners include Alipay of China and TrueMoney of Thailand.

Kakao Pay said it expects to see meaningful growth in the retail stock service this year.

The company’s net profit fell 2.1 percent on year in the first quarter, while operating profit plunged 41 percent in the same period.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]