'Line Pay' bypasses Korea, China

By Yoon Sung-won

Mobile instant messenger application LINE’s global mobile payment and banking function “LINE Pay” is not available in Korea and China, Naver said Tuesday.

The messenger app is operated by LINE Corp., a Japan-based subsidiary of Naver, Korea’s largest Internet service provider.

The mobile payment and remittance function was added to the messenger app through its latest global update conducted on Tuesday. Naver said that the payment function is available everywhere globally except in Korea and China, while the remittance and withdrawal function is only available in Japan.

“The introduction of mobile payment service in Korea has been postponed under the company’s strategic decision and consideration over the business value and profitability in the local market,” said a Naver spokeswoman on Wednesday. “We can say that the LINE Pay service will be available within next year, though the exact timeline for its launch here is not fixed yet.”

LINE has been blocked in China by the government there since July. The company said that will have to be lifted before the mobile payment service can be brought to Korea.

To use LINE Pay’s payment function, users need to register their credit card number, its expiration date and three-digit security code, along with the name of the card holder and a password for the card, said the company. It said that users can set an additional password to activate the function in a new device, in an effort to enhance security. Those who use iPhones can activate the fingerprint recognition function to unlock the payment service.

The company said it has established partnership with Visa, MasterCard, JCB, AmEx and Diners and pledged to support more card brands.

It said the payment is available at the company’s online “LINE Store” and will improve the function to be usable at more diverse outlets.

Naver said the banking functions, including remittance and withdrawal, are only accessible in Japan as of now, under cooperation with Sumimoto Mitsui Bank and Mizuho Bank.

Line Corp. said earlier that it will enter the “fintech” market by launching the LINE Pay service within the year during the company’s press event titled “LINE Conference Tokyo 2014” in Japan, Oct. 9. The term fintech is a portmanteau of “finance” and “technology” and refers to technologies that enable payment, banking and other financial activities on online and mobile platforms.

LINE has more than 560 million subscribers in more than 230 countries as of October, and the number of monthly active users reaches 170 million.