There are reports one following another that Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile simple payment service, is imminent in Korea. Although it is an ‘old issue’ that has come up from time to time following the launch of Apple Pay in 2014, the specific situation has been captured this time, and it is speculated that the introduction will become a reality within the year.
Really this time? ‘to the point’
According to the industry on the 15th, an image file of Hyundai Card’s terms and conditions, which states that the Apple Pay service will be implemented within this year, has been leaked and is spreading to online communities.
The terms and conditions contained the contents of ‘Apple Pay payment service provided by Hyundai Card Co., Ltd. to subscribers’. It was also explained as ‘a service that performs payment approval procedures at offline and online merchants through a dedicated application (app) installed on one’s mobile device’.
The reason the public’s attention was focused is because the specific terms and conditions have come out until the enforcement date. According to the leaked information, Apple Pay will be effective from the next month, ‘November 30’. With this phrase, expectations are growing that Apple Pay will now be officially launched in Korea.
The authenticity of the terms and conditions is currently unknown. Both Apple and Hyundai Card, the service providers, are not confirming. As a result of the coverage, Apple did not take a particular position, and Hyundai Card officials repeated only the reply, “There is nothing we can confirm.”
Apple’s unusual ‘secretism’ influence?
Apple’s ‘secretism’ is a tongue-in-cheek. Security is more important than any other company in the information technology (IT) industry. This can be seen by looking at recent examples. Rumors regarding the Apple Store Jamsil branch (the 4th branch), which opened on the 24th of last month, have already been spreading since August of last year. At the time, rumors came out along with the withdrawal of the Hollister Lotte World Mall store, and there was an observation that a new store would be opened in Jamsil Lotte World Mall, which competed with the Apple Store Yeouido branch (2nd store). In February of this year, a job announcement for local personnel in ‘East Seoul’ was posted on Apple’s website in February of this year, and then, in August, internal materials engraved with the Apple logo were caught in the Lotte World Mall in Jamsil.
However, on the 14th of last month, Apple kept silent regarding the reporter’s question regarding whether or not the store would open until the day before the official announcement on its website.
Apple is known for adhering to an unusual secrecy strategy in line with the philosophy of the late Steve Jobs. According to the book ‘Inside Apple’, a book that interviewed former Apple employees, Apple sometimes entrusts new developers to develop ‘fake products’. Until trust is built, a ‘real product’ is something you can’t touch.
It is known to require vicious levels of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) from suppliers and employees. That’s why Apple’s employees are obliged to pledge not to divulge their work to friends, colleagues, or even their spouses. Failure to do so will result in a huge penalty. In the case of ‘GT Advanced Technologies’, which used to be Apple’s display partner in the past, a clause requiring $50 million (approximately 55.9 billion won) to be paid for each breach of a confidentiality contract became a hot topic.
After iPhone 13 details and meeting details were leaked last year, CEO Tim Cook said in a company-wide email, “We are doing everything we can to identify those who leaked. I’m not from Apple.”
In the past, if leaks of Apple products were discovered, they were fired or even arrested. The industry speculates that the leak of secrets is the most likely cause behind the Apple-Hyundai Motor Group’s ‘Apple Car collaboration rumors’ that emerged early last year. At the time, CNBC reported that “Companies dealing with Apple should not tell anyone. Hyundai must have learned a lesson from this incident.”
Even Apple’s employees are unaware of how the company’s organization is structured. An employee at an American IT company said, “Apple’s departments are split like shards as needed, and tasks are also separated like puzzle pieces. The necessary personnel are working on the necessary contents in the form of ‘dots’.” . The finished appearance can only be seen by the top management. Apple’s secrecy also had a marketing effect that increased consumers’ longing for information regarding Apple’s new products and increased interest in Apple’s products.
“The situation is clear”… Expectations for domestic landing
This means that it is not easy to confirm whether the rumors regarding the introduction of Apple Pay are true or not. So, will Apple Pay really come into Korea this time? Apple Pay is currently available in 73 countries. In Asia, it is already being used in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Malaysia, and even China, but it is not available only in Korea.
One reason seems to be the lack of widespread use of near field communication (NFC) terminals in Korea. In Korea, most restaurants and shops use IC terminals to pay by inserting a card directly into the terminal. NFC terminals, which allow you to pay for goods simply by holding your smartphone to the card terminal, can be used mainly at large merchants such as Starbucks, E-Mart, and GS25. Most general stores are using cheaper IC terminals instead of expensive card terminals. An industry official explained, “There are 100,000 domestic merchants with NFC terminals, and the penetration rate is less than 3%.”
Domestic card companies, who felt the burden of infrastructure construction costs due to such low NFC terminal penetration and Apple’s own high fees, were unable to successfully introduce Apple Pay. The rumors regarding the introduction of Apple Pay were rekindled in August when rumors of an exclusive contract with Hyundai Card spread. Quite specific progress is also captured. There are even rumors that six large van (VAN) companies and card terminal manufacturers have signed a contract and started manufacturing and system development of NFC terminals for Apple Pay. However, officials from large domestic VAN companies also gave the same reaction as Apple and Hyundai Card. It is said that neither the terminal being developed nor whether Apple Pay is introduced is “unconfirmed”.
Apple, Hyundai Card, and the Van (VAN) industry are steadfastly denying it, but users are raising expectations for the launch of Apple Pay as specific circumstances have emerged, such as the addition of a ‘Start Apple Pay’ menu to the iPhone wallet service. After the iOS 16 update for the iPhone operating system on the 12th of last month, the ‘Start Apple Pay’ menu was added to the wallet service for the first time. In addition, a new sentence was found in the Korean media service terms and conditions on Apple’s website: “You can use Apple Pay to charge a payment method on your Apple Wallet of your choice.” With these clues emerging, the rumors regarding the introduction of Apple Pay are gaining weight.
According to the leaked Hyundai Card terms and conditions, if Apple Pay service is really introduced on the 30th of next month, the official timing of Apple is probably regarding a week or so following the service starts. Apple is famous for its ‘guerrilla marketing’, in which product information is thoroughly hidden and imminent disclosure of product information while adhering to secrecy. In the meantime, Apple has officially unveiled the new store or product release date in Korea for as little as 10 days or as long as two weeks ahead of time.
If the real Apple Pay is introduced as specified in the terms and conditions, it is highly likely that Apple’s official date will be following the middle of next month. Most users who are familiar with Apple’s properties are responding, “Let’s wait until next month for now.” It means that we have to wait at least a month to officially confirm whether Apple Pay has been introduced.
Reporter Jo Ara at Hankyung.com [email protected]
