Naver to launch mobile payment platform in June

Naver Corp., the operator of South Korea's top namesake Internet portal, said Thursday it will introduce its new instant mobile payment platform in June to tap into the emerging fintech business.

Naver Pay will offer users a simpler way of paying via mobile by enabling transactions with the user's Naver ID, a password and the cellphone number of the recipient, the company said in a press release.

The payment can be made either by a credit card or a direct debit through bank accounts, without having to go through the complex and repeated identification procedures usually required for a money transfer in South Korea.

Naver is one of many IT firms here seeking to enter the fintech business, which refers to a convergence of finance and technology.

Daum Kakao Corp., the creator of South Korea's most widely-used mobile messenger KakaoTalk and the archrival of Naver, has been pumping out its own payment tools, backed by the number of KakaoTalk users reaching more than 35 million.

Naver said it has tied up with five credit card firms, including BC Card Co. and Samsung Card Co., and is in talks with five major local banks to forge the partnership to provide Naver Pay. 

The portal operator said it plans to adopt a fingerprint-based recognition function into the mobile payment platform to verify users.

The users only need to register their ID and payment details once on the Naver Pay account, which will help make transactions more effortless, the company said.

Naver runs mobile payment platforms on the portal -- Naver Checkout, Naver Mileage and Naver Cash. Naver Pay will be the updated version of Naver Checkout, integrated with the other two payment tools.

Naver Checkout has 15 million users and more than 40,000 affiliated merchants. (Yonhap)