The Korea Times close
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to the Editor
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
Entertainment
& Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
Sports
  • Beijing Olympics
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
Video
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • Site Map
  • E-paper
  • Subscribe
  • Register
  • LogIn
search close
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • Site Map
  • E-paper
  • Subscribe
  • Register
  • LogIn
search close
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
Thu, February 3, 2022 | 06:26
Non-banks
[INTERVIEW] 'Korea to be first mover in deviceless payment'
Posted : 2019-09-29 15:25
Updated : 2019-09-30 09:59
Print Preview
Font Size Up
Font Size Down
Ryoo Tae-hyun, director of Shinhan Card's digital first division / Courtesy of Shinhan Card
Ryoo Tae-hyun, director of Shinhan Card's digital first division / Courtesy of Shinhan Card
Shinhan Card seeks to take initiative in facial payment, blockchain

By Park Jae-hyuk

Korea will evolve from a country known for high credit card use into a first mover in "deviceless" payment systems, according to the nation's leading card firm's executive in charge of its digital transformation strategy.

Ryoo Tae-hyun, director of Shinhan Card's digital first division, told The Korea Times that the era of plastic-free and deviceless payments will be available here within a few years.

"The senior vice president of Visa, who directs the firm's innovation, came to Korea before the Chuseok holiday and told me that he expects Korea will lead the new payment system before the United States or China," he said.

"Digital payments already account for 16.5 percent of the way our customers make payments. The figure has jumped from 12 percent two years ago."

According to the director, Shinhan Card is taking the initiative in several futuristic payment systems ― facial recognition-based payment systems, blockchain-powered payment systems and internet of things (IoT) financial platforms.

Ryoo said Korea will take the lead in such technologies, if the government supports the introduction of a nationwide infrastructure.

"By the end of September, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) will decide whether to designate our facial payment as an innovative financial service," he said, sounding optimistic about the financial regulator's forthcoming decision.

According to the FSC, providers of innovative financial services are immune to diverse financial regulations and have exclusive rights for their services for two years after they get approval.

Shinhan Card, which has run "Shinhan Face Pay" at the cafeteria, coffee shop and CU convenience store inside the company's headquarters since August, will allow customers to use the system at universities starting from November, given that they are closed communities with many early adopters.

Ryoo emphasized that Shinhan Face Pay does not infringe on privacy.

"Unlike China's facial payment system collecting original images, our system only stores key points of images, so it is free from privacy issues," he said.

"Our Face Pay also features age tracing algorithms that means our customers using the system do not have to submit a new photo for 10 years."

Another technology that Shinhan Card employs is a blockchain-based payment system.

The card issuer obtained a patent for the system in Korea, being the first in the world to have established a credit transaction service using the new record-keeping technology.

It applied for patents in five other countries and one trading bloc ― the U.S., China, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia, and the European Union. Decisions on these will be made in 2020.

"With our system, we provide our customers with cryptocurrencies available at our affiliated stores, in accordance with their credit limits," Ryoo said.

"Cryptocurrencies developed by other blockchain companies can only be used at a limited number of stores. Ours can be used at a wider range of places, because we have served as a platform for our customers and affiliated stores for over the past 30 years."

The executive also said the combination of blockchain and IoT technologies will accelerate the end of plastic.

"We installed our payment module in products from Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics," he said.

"Our customers will be able to do grocery shopping with LG ThinQ refrigerators. This means that products themselves become our affiliates. If the nation's manufacturers pay more attention to cooperation with financial firms, the pace of innovation will be much faster."


Emailpjh@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter



 
  • A closer look at COVID-19 home treatment in Korea
  • Daily life in Beijing as 2022 Winter Olympic Games kick off [PHOTOS]
  • Korea urged to explore ways to reduce China reliance
  • Indian students in Korea feel pinch due to soaring airfare
  • Market Kurly, SSG.com uneasy about IPO amid plunging stock market
  • Woowa Brothers pressed to earn more for Delivery Hero
  • Lee, Yoon clash over health insurance coverage for foreign residents
  • Concerns rise over post-holiday surge in COVID-19 cases
  • Rival candidates churn out doubtful promises of construction projects
  • Banks protest regulators' call to expand bad debt allowance
  • Dark side of non-celebrities shooting to fame on reality TV shows Dark side of non-celebrities shooting to fame on reality TV shows
  • Not-to-miss art exhibitions, fairs in 2022 Not-to-miss art exhibitions, fairs in 2022
  • Jimin of BTS tests positive for COVID-19 Jimin of BTS tests positive for COVID-19
  • Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, 30, found dead after fall from Manhattan building Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst, 30, found dead after fall from Manhattan building
  • BTS members send season's greetings to fans BTS members send season's greetings to fans
DARKROOM
  • Daily life in Beijing as 2022 Winter Olympic Games kick off [PHOTOS]

    Daily life in Beijing as 2022 Winter Olympic Games kick off [PHOTOS]

  • Celebrating Lunar New Year amid the ongoing pandemic

    Celebrating Lunar New Year amid the ongoing pandemic

  • Daily life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule

    Daily life in Afghanistan under Taliban rule

  • How snow looks around the world

    How snow looks around the world

  • Pictures of the year 2021

    Pictures of the year 2021

The Korea Times
CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Location
  • Media Kit
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Service
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • Mobile Service
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Policy
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • 고충처리인
  • Youth Protection Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group