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| The headquarters of Hyundai Card on Yeouido, Seoul / Newsis |
By Anna J. Park
Hyundai Card is currently known to be in talks with Apple to introduce Apply Pay exclusively to Korea as early as by the end of this year.
According to local credit market sources, Hyundai Card's talks with Apple are in its final phase to seal the deal of exclusively introducing the mobile payment services to Korean consumers. Hyundai Card is expected to sign a one-year exclusive contract to provide the U.S. tech-giant's mobile payment service, while some say the contract could be extended for up to three years.
Since early August, there have been numerous local media reports speculating about Hyundai Card's exclusive deal with Apple Pay. Yet, the credit card company has kept its lips sealed on the matter.
"There's nothing the company can confirm on the matter. That's all we can say," an official from Hyundai Card told The Korea Times, Wednesday
However, the local credit card industry now regards the deal as a fait accompli, as the sources of the news came from the local payment network business industry during Hyundai Card's recent talks with them.
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| An Apple Pay promotional image from Apple's website / Courtesy of Apple |
Apple Pay was first introduced in the U.S. in 2014, and it's now available in more than 60 countries around the world. Neighboring countries like Japan and China started to offer the global tech giant's mobile payment service in 2016.
Since 2015, there had been attempts to offer the payment service to Korean consumers as well, but Apple and local credit card companies couldn't reach an agreement on key issues, including how to share the cost burden of distributing NFC readers nationwide.
Given that Samsung Pay, which relies on magnetic secure transmission (MST) technology for its mobile payment service, currently accounts for about 80 percent of contactless mobile payment in the Korean market, it will likely be the company that is the most affected by the introduction of Apple Pay.
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