No separate app download required for payments at Seoul Pay merchants
Existing QR infrastructure leveraged, boosting sales potential for merchants
Coocon, a business data platform company, announced Tuesday that it has built a QR payment infrastructure linking Kakao Pay and Seoul Pay.
Under the new integration, Kakao Pay users can make QR payments with Kakao Pay Money at Seoul Pay-affiliated merchants. Kakao Pay is the first domestic payment service to connect with Seoul Pay merchants. With about 43 million cumulative subscribers, Kakao Pay is one of South Korea's leading mobile payment services, and the integration now enables payments at roughly 270,000 Seoul Pay-affiliated merchants.
Kakao Pay users can pay at Seoul Pay merchants through the Kakao Pay home screen within KakaoTalk or through the Kakao Pay app, with no separate app installation required. Seoul Pay merchants can also expand payment options for customers without additional system investment by continuing to use their existing QR infrastructure — a development expected to contribute to higher sales.
Coocon operates as the payment and settlement operator for Seoul Pay, designated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and runs the payment infrastructure connecting Seoul Pay with domestic and international mobile payment services. The company had earlier integrated global payment services — including UnionPay, WeChat Pay and Alipay+ — with Seoul Pay, improving payment convenience for foreign tourists.
Coocon is also expanding its offline payment coverage. The company is building QR merchant networks based on local currency systems and broadening its direct franchise merchant base. On top of that, it plans to accelerate expansion into global markets, starting with Asia, by establishing a Singapore subsidiary to secure international partners and diversify its service channels.
"This Kakao Pay integration is significant because it marks an expansion of Coocon's QR payment infrastructure — which has led the way in cross-border payments — into domestic payment services," said Coocon CEO Kim Jong-hyun. "We will use the payment infrastructure we have built domestically as a foundation to actively target overseas markets, including Asia, and grow into a global payments company."
Meanwhile, Coocon disclosed at its regular investor relations briefing last month that it posted second-quarter sales of 17.96 billion won ($13.4 million) and operating profit of 4.96 billion won, up 12.2 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively, from the previous quarter.
The payments segment led earnings with sales of 9.31 billion won and operating profit of 2.23 billion won, driven by new customer acquisition among major payment gateway companies and higher transaction volumes. The data segment also held its ground, posting sales of 8.65 billion won on the back of an expansion in new customers for financial MyData services.
igiza77@heraldcorp.com
