By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
SK Telecom, which wants mobile phones to double as wallets, is increasing its efforts to tempt users into spending via their handsets.
The wireless carrier's subscribers, who can already use the ``T-Cash'' mobile payment system to pay for bus fares, grocery products and parking tickets, will now also be able to purchase goods and services from the Internet.
``We're constantly trying to increase destinations, offline and online, where T-Cash payments are accepted as payment,'' said Park Sang-joon, who heads SK Telecom's financial service team.
``The company is also making more efforts to improve consumer services and make mobile payment a safer and more convenient solution for wireless users. We plan to introduce a service that allows SK Telecom users to keep their T-Cash allowance in check even if they lose their handsets.''
Since launching the service earlier this year, SK Telecom said it gathered more than 200,000 users of T-Cash. The mobile wallets are used for paying bus, subway and taxi fares, buying items at 24-hour convenience stores, and paying for parking at a number of major facilities such as Seoul Station, Gimpo International Airport and Seoul World Cup Stadium.
Kyobo Book Store, Lotte World and Munhak Baseball Stadium are some of the other destinations that accept T-Cash payments.
T-Cash will now be accepted as payment at 11th Street (www.11st.co.kr), an online retail and auction site operated by SK Telecom, and Cyworld (www.cyworld.com), the country's most popular social networking service, operated by SK Communications, the Internet unit of SK Telecom.
SK Telecom subscribers with third-generation (3G) handsets, enabled to handle data applications atop of voice, could use the mobile payment system by installing USIM cards in their phones and downloading related programs to the devices.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
