Samsung Pay, which is among the top three mobile payment services in South Korea, now has a new rival. As expected, Apple has launched Apple Pay in the country and will now compete with Samsung Pay, Kakao Pay, and Naver Pay, among others. However, Apple has been quite slow in rolling out its mobile payment service.
Apple Pay will allow iPhone and Apple Watch users to pay using NFC through their devices. Apple is currently collaborating with Hyundai Card for now. This service is similar to Samsung Pay, which currently has the upper hand as it allows payments through NFC, QR codes, and MST (which imitates cards with magnetic stripes). According to a report, less than 10% of stores in the country support NFC-based payments, so it remains to be seen how successful Apple Pay will be in South Korea.
Apparently, it costs a store owner around KRW 150,000 (around $115) to install a PoS (Point of Sale) device that supports NFC payments. However, all PoS machines support magnetic card swipes, so Samsung Pay is compatible with most payment devices in stores.
Unlike Samsung Pay, Apple Pay charges a fee of 0.1%-0.15% on consumers, stores, and even credit card companies. Some reports claim that even Samsung Pay, Naver Pay, and Kakao Pay may start charging a similar fee for their mobile payment services. However, nothing is concrete as of now. Since over 80% of smartphone users in Korea use a Samsung smartphone, it remains to be seen how successful Apple will be with Apple Pay.
