LG Uplus to offer mobile payment service for Chinese customers
LG Uplus CEO Lee Sang-chul, right, China Union Pay Chairman Ge Hua Yong, second from right, and KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyoo, pose after signing an agreement to cooperate in a mobile payment service, at LG Uplus’ building in Yongsan, Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of LG Uplus
By Bahk Eun-ji
LG Uplus said Thursday that it will offer a new mobile payment service in China in collaboration with KB Kookmin Card and China Union Pay.
LG Uplus CEO Lee Sang-chul, China Union Pay Chairman Ge Hua Yong and KB Kookmin Card Chief Executive Kim Duk-soo signed an agreement to promote the mobile card payment service at LG’s building in Yongsan, Seoul.
When customers download Union Pay-branded mobile credit cards, the customers can make payments through near field communication (NFC) in China and Korea, starting from July.
Union Pay has set up the NFC payment terminal at more than 5 million stores in China. The cooperation with Union Pay is essential for entering the payment industry in China.
LG Uplus is the first company to establish a partnership with Union Pay among non-Chinese companies, an LG Uplus spokesman said.
The company said it will set up the NFC terminals at shops frequented by Chinese tourists within this year.
“We expect this collaboration will help us take an advantageous position, as this is the first partnership between domestic mobile carriers and a local card company to advance into China’s payment service industry,” Lee said.
“With the new service, customers can purchase goods in shops both in China and Korea more easily and safely in the mobile environment.”