Kakao Pay available in major retail locations in Thailand

Kakao Pay, the online payment subsidiary of Kakao Corp, announced Tuesday it has expanded to Thailand, making the service available at major payment points from department stores and pharmacies to a taxi-hailing platform.

Central Retail, one of Thailand's largest retail corporations, now supports Kakao Pay at over 3,000 of its locations. These include department stores like Central World and Central Embassy, drugstores such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto and retail outlets like Muji and Tops Club.

Starting later in the third quarter, ride-sharing service Grab will also incorporate Kakao Pay as a payment option in its app.

Kakao Pay will also be accepted at various malls, pharmacies and transport services, particularly in Thailand's frequented tourist locations.

Users can easily pay with Kakao Pay Money, the mobile wallet service, by scanning a QR or barcode at supported locations displaying signs indicating Kakao Pay or Alipay+, Kakao Pay's international partner. Users will receive real-time notifications upon transaction through the Kakao Pay app or KakaoTalk, which present the amounts in both Korean won and Thai baht.

In 2022, Korean tourists were the seventh-largest group visiting Thailand, according to the Thailand Ministry of Tourism & Sports.

"Our expansion to Thailand aligns with Kakao Pay's strategy to evolve as a 'global pay' service," said a Kakao Pay official.

Beside Thailand, Kakao Pay is currently operational or being tested in more than 10 countries, including Japan, Germany and the UK.

For tourists coming to South Korea, Kakao Pay also plans to integrate with major payment systems such as Alipay and Gcash to allow domestic merchants in Korea to accept widely used international payment methods.