Kakao's mobile wallet service in smooth progress

By Bahk Eun-ji

Kakao, the nation’s top mobile messenger service provider, said Tuesday that its plan to launch a new payment service in collaboration with nine credit card firms in September is progressing smoothly.

The popular messaging company denied some reports that it may delay the launch of the service due to some credit card companies expressing concerns.

The card firms are reportedly reluctant to cooperate with Kakao due to unaddressed security issues involving the service.

Kakao released a statement clarifying its stance that it has not hit any major problems in launching the service as planned.

“We are in the final stage without any significant problems. As we announced earlier, we will be able to start the service in September,” a Kakao official said.

The official also said the company and credit card companies are making sure that the service will encounter no obstacles related to security.

With the Kakao’s payment service via the messenger app, users will be able to settle payments after registering their credit cards on the service.

Currently, customers need to download a public authentication certificate if they spend more than 300,000 won on the Internet.

Kakao will introduce MPay operated by LG CNS as the authentication method, which is comparatively safer and more secure than other programs.

The new security program was approved as the safest measure by the financial authorities, officials said.

The Kakao official said the new payment service will benefit both customers and card issuers. If the payment option becomes more convenient for users, that will encourage them to spend more.