Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
KakaoPay makes 'quiet' expansion in Japan
An entrance to a department store in Fukuoka, Japan, where KakaoPay is available. / Yonhap
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
KakaoPay has expanded in Japan without an intensive marketing campaign amid the ongoing anti-Japan sentiment in Korea and travel restrictions between the two countries over the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company, Friday.
The mobile payment service unit of Kakao said its users have been able to complete payments using QR codes provided by PayPay merchants anywhere in Japan since Wednesday.
When KakaoPay trialed a cross-border service at several stores in Fukuoka last July, the Korean firm joined with Alibaba Group's Alipay, which had 300,000 merchants in Japan as of March last year.
After PayPay ― a joint venture of SoftBank and Yahoo Japan ― affiliated with the Chinese mobile payment service provider, KakaoPay has been available at PayPay merchants.
PayPay, launched in October 2018, has 25 million users and 2 million affiliated merchants.
KakaoPay, however, did not issue a press release for its recent expansion of services to cover the whole of Japan. It also did not issue a release when it started the test run in Fukuoka in July amid the intensifying “boycott Japan” movement.
Japan is the first foreign country in which KakaoPay launched its service.
But when the company started in Macau last October, it issued a press release.
“For our users to experience KakaoPay conveniently overseas, we began to offer KakaoPay services in Macau,” a KakaoPay official said at the time. “As a financial platform provider for various services, we will make efforts to offer a more convenient and rich experience.”
KakaoPay denied speculations that the anti-Japan sentiment in Korea was the reason it has refrained from marketing campaigns for its services in Japan.
“We didn't issue a press release in July because our service in Japan was on a trial basis,” a KakaoPay spokeswoman said. “We issued a press release for our service in Macau because we launched a full-fledged service there.
“Regarding the recent news, we decided not to carry out aggressive marketing campaigns, considering the government's request for Koreans to refrain from making trips overseas.”
However, some Korean internet users still slammed KakaoPay for its expansion in Japan.
Against this backdrop, the Sankei Shimbun reported Thursday that the Japanese government is considering retaliatory measures against the Korean Supreme Court's decision on the possible sale of assets here owned by Japanese companies that were ordered to compensate forced wartime laborers.