Telecom operators, credit cards, KCC team up to provide mobile payment system


The nation’s busiest shopping street in Myeong-dong has been designated as a trial zone for near field communication-based mobile payments from Thursday for three months.

It is unprecedented in the world, said the Korea Communication Commission’s Choi See-joong during the launching event held at the popular tourist spot in central Seoul.

Visitors who have cell phones with a NFC chip will no longer need to carry their credit cards to buy products at some 200 stores in the Myeong-dong area.

Other than credit card payments, users at a restaurant, for instance, can order food just by passing the back of their phones across the NFC reader. They also don’t need to stand in line as an alarm on the phone will sound when their food is ready. 

Participating merchants plan to offer diverse promotional events during the trial period so that visitors can get discounts or loyalty points on their purchases.

The upcoming mobile app “Myeong-dong App” for Android users also will include the list of participating merchants, their special deals and discount coupons.

Considering the area is a hot spot for travelers from Asian countries, the app is available in three languages: Korean, Japanese and Chinese.

Now the services are available on Android smartphones such as Galaxy S2, Vega Racer, Nexus S and LTE phones, while the app for iPhones could start as early as next year, sources said.

The Myeong-dong NFC zone is the latest outcome of the “Grand NFC Global Alliance,” under which the nation’s top telecommunication regulator, three telecom carriers, credit card firms and other businesses have promoted contactless mobile payments.

The mobile payment services based on NFC technology is one of the hottest segments, in which local and global IT companies have a great interest recently.

During his visit to Seoul this week, Google chairman Eric Schmidt is also believed to have discussed potential partnerships with local telecom carriers about Google Wallet, the search giant’s mobile payment system introduced in May.

According to industry sources, the NFC chip is expected to be equipped into about 86 percent of the global cell phones by 2015. NFC payments would amount to $370 billion, or 33 percent of the total mobile payments in 2014.

As part of the government’s NFC initiative, the nation’s top telecommunication regulator also plans to expand the NFC payment infrastructure to major supermarket chains, gas stations and franchise restaurants in the coming months.

By 2012, it will carry out pilot programs in preparations for the implementations of NFC-based mobile transit cards, NFC zone at airport and paperless receipts at retail transactions.


By Lee Ji-yoon
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)