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| Apple Pay promotional image / Courtesy of Apple Pay |
By Anna J. Park
Apple Pay is expected to be launched in Korea soon, as the financial authorities have finally given the green light to its mobile payment service to be made available in the country.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC), the country's top financial regulator, announced Friday it has finished reviewing related local laws, concluding that local credit card companies can officially adopt Apple Pay for use here.
"After reviewing related articles and legal interpretations, including the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act and the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, the financial authorities have confirmed that local credit card companies can bring Apple Pay services into the country if they follow the necessary procedures," the FSC's official statement released on Friday reads.
"It is expected that the launch of the Apple Pay service will increase customers' settlement convenience while facilitating developments of new payment services based on near-field communication (NFC) technology."
The financial authority added that credit card companies aiming to adopt Apple Pay should not pass the costs of adopting the service on to customers or affiliated stores. The FSC also ordered the companies to develop specific consumer protection measures.
Following the FSC's decision, Hyundai Card is expected to launch Apple Pay in Korea soon. The credit card company has been preparing to introduce the service into the country since last summer. It was originally expected that the service would be launched by last November, but it was delayed due to financial authorities' prolonged evaluation process.
While the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) completed its review of the terms and conditions of Apple's mobile payment service in early December, the FSC took longer to ensure that Apple Pay's EMV contactless technology was compatible with the local legal framework. Short for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, EMV is a globally acknowledged and widely used payment service that relies on NFC technology.
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