Toss Pay joins hands with CU to become available at offline shops

Toss application image / Courtesy of Toss

Toss places priority in increasing payment market share

By Anna J. Park

Toss Pay has formed a partnership with CU, Korea's major convenience store franchise, accelerating its expansion into offline transactions. The mobile payment company has been making aggressive moves recently to step up as a key contender among local payment players.

According to the mobile financial application company, Toss Pay became available for payment at some 17,000 CU convenience stores nationwide on Monday. Using a barcode scanning system, customers can use the Toss app to make payments at the convenience stores. The payment will be charged to credit cards or deposit accounts registered on the mobile app.

The fintech firm said the partnership will be the beginning of a wider use of Toss Pay at offline stores during the second half of this year. So far, Toss Pay has only been used for various online transactions, ranging from shopping and phone bills to tax payments.

“By using Toss Pay, customers can automatically earn CU membership points, while making the payments simply and swiftly,” an official from Toss Pay said. “Toss Pay will be extended to be used at more offline stores, including franchise coffee shops and gas stations, hoping to become the most frequently used payment tool in everyday life.”

Promotional image for Toss Pay / Courtesy of Toss Pay

With Toss Pay making a foray into offline transactions, the competition among major online contenders, including Naver Pay, Kakao Pay and Samsung Pay, has extended its battlefield to take over more offline market shares.

Toss has been moving aggressively in order not to lose relevance in the local payment war. Late last week, it announced its intention to complete the acquisition of Shinsegae Group's payment services ― SSG Pay and Smile Pay ― by the end of this year. Toss is currently conducting due diligence for the acquisition.

Garnering competitiveness in the payment market has actually been one of the key goals for Toss. Lee Seung-gun, founder and CEO of Viva Republica, which operates Toss, vowed to expand its payment business.

“Payment services are paramount in organically linking the ecosystem of consumers and affiliated stores as well as linking online and offline transactions,” Lee told reporters during a press conference at the end of last year, stressing the priority in expanding the fintech firm's payment business for this year.