Service in Korea from the beginning of the new month
iPhone market share increase effect
The Strongest Samsung Pay Stronghold Gold Might
NFC terminal penetration rate only 10%
Attention is focusing on whether Apple Pay, which is regarding to land in Korea, will cause a change in the perception of the mobile phone and simple payment industries or will end up as a ‘typhoon in a teacup’.
According to the financial world on the 5th, the Financial Services Commission issued an interpretation on the 3rd that Apple Pay, Apple’s contactless simple payment system, is available in Korea. It is known that the service start date will be early next month.
Some analysts say that the introduction of Apple Pay will increase the market share of Apple’s smartphone, the iPhone. They want to use the iPhone, but there is no simple payment system, so consumers who have used Samsung Electronics’ Galaxy series can move. As for the domestic smartphone market share, Samsung Electronics dominates the iPhone with a 77% share.
The stronghold of Samsung Pay, the strongest player in the domestic simple payment market, may be cracked. According to app data analysis company Wise App Retail Goods, the most used simple payment app in Korea in November last year was Samsung Pay, with 15.77 million users in one month.
The key is the supply of near field communication (NFC) terminals, which are essential for using Apple Pay. Most stores in Korea use MST terminals that can use Samsung Pay. On the other hand, the penetration rate of NFC terminals is low, around 10%. It is known that convenience stores, Shinsegae Department Store, Lotte Department Store, and Starbucks have installed NFC terminals across the country. An official in the NFC industry said, “If you think that there will be fewer places to download the payment software that Apple will release, less than 10% of all merchants will be able to use Apple Pay immediately following launch.” The possibility of an increase cannot be ruled out.”
Correspondent Shin Kang
