Yap aims to reign supreme in mobile services

Mobile coupon application operator Yap Company has been expanding its businesses ranging from public transportation apps to smart beacons in a bid to lead the mobile services sector.

The latest moves by the 2-year-old company include takeover of emerging mobile services, such as the nation’s most popular mobile subway map provider Smarter Subway with around 14 million subscribers, and the launch of new mobile services including restaurant recommendation app Yap Place and Yap, a beacon-based app which automatically sends smartphone alerts about discount information at coffee shops or dining places as soon as users enter their premises. Yap users also can make purchases with the mobile app and manage their membership points at different shops and franchises.

Unveiling plans to further the existing services of Yap Company, founder and CEO David Ahn said he would spare no efforts to roll out new services to catch up with the fast-changing IT trends and cater to the various tastes of consumers.

“Yap has a series of plans to establish a comprehensive mobile platform and will try to acquire promising mobile services such as recommendation services for hospitals and parking lots,” CEO Ahn said in a roundtable interview with reporters last week in Seoul.

“Competition will reach its peak throughout the next year among mobile services providers (such as Kakao and Naver) to take the throne of the industry and Yap will try to become No. 1 in the sector,” he added.

To gain the upper hand, Yap says it is planning to attract around 100 billion won ($84 million) of additional investment.

The company has received 22 billion won from Hong Kong-based New World Group in July and another 22 billion won from domestic investors.

The company has run TV advertisements and bus stop information on buses running in Seoul and plans to add more in the city.

Using Yap’s beacon technology, the bus TVs send discount information about nearby cafes and restaurants to users’ smartphones.

Food company SPC Group has deployed Yap’s beacon system in its bakeries and coffeehouses, including Paris Baguette and Pascucci.

“We are willing to clinch more partnership deals for the beacon system, which is more user-friendly than other beacon-based technologies like the one developed by Apple,” said the CEO, hinting at more future collaboration with other food firms and IT companies.

The CEO, who is an IT expert himself, has developed mobile membership services for local mobile carriers before the smartphone was first introduced. Joining hands with SK Telecom, Ahn rolled out the Smart Wallet mobile wallet service, now Syrup Wallet, in 2010.

He is prepping up to tap into global markets, including China and Europe. The planned launch of the firm’s global head office in Hong Kong next year is part of the effort.

By Kim Young-won  (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)