Shinhan Card has forged a strategic partnership with PayPal, one of the first online payment solutions in the United States, the Korean credit card company said Wednesday.
Shinhan Card's digital mobile platform Shinhan FAN will be connected with PayPal.
Through the interconnected platforms, it will enable local Korean customers to settle online transactions overseas. Those without a PayPal account, a person can easily open one via Shinhan FAN, it said.
The two companies will also seek to develop new digital payment business in Asia.
"The future survival of a financial company depends on its digital capability," Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin said. "Through this partnership with PayPal, we will push forward with digital innovation, and become a leading digital company."
PayPal was co-founded by Elon Musk and Peter Thiel.
The online payment solution was considered new and innovative when it was launched in the late 1990s.
Musk is known today for his premium electric vehicle giant Tesla. Thiel is an entrepreneur who invested in Facebook.
Those who are part of PayPal are referred to as "PayPal Mafia."
YouTube co-founder Steve Chen, who worked at PayPal as its engineer, was part of the PayPal gang.
Shinhan's digital drive comes as Lim wants the company to become a competitive digital company, rather than a financial one.
It seeks to achieve this goal through mergers and acquisitions, and strategic ties.
The company also aims to generate 10 percent of its annual profit from overseas markets through digitalization.
To this end, it has been aggressively adopting big data and cloud computing technologies.
Lim said in a recent event celebrating its 10th anniversary that the company and its DNA must change for the new digital age.
He added the company plans to have more than 50 percent of its employees to be totally digitally savvy and advanced. It will invest in technologies such as big data and cloud computing.
Shinhan Card also forged a partnership with KT, a local telecom operator, to launch the KT Shinhan Check Card for KT customers. The customers will be able to pay their telecom, IPTV and other monthly fees with the card and get cash-back gifts.