Samsung Pay may soon face competition from Apple in Korea

Due to a lack of an NFC infrastructure and other regulatory factors, Apple has yet to release its Pay service to South Korea. But according to new reports, Samsung Pay may soon face serious competition in the mobile payment market in its home country from the US tech giant.

For months now, reports indicate that Hyundai Card and Apple have been discussing the possible release of Apple Pay in Korea. And today, financial regulators confirmed that, in theory, Apple could bring its Pay platform to Samsung’s home turf if it so desired.

A recent press release from the Financial Services Commission (FSC) stated: “Having taken into consideration relevant rules and regulations and their interpretations, we confirm that credit card companies can push for the introduction of the Apple Pay service as they have obeyed necessary procedures.” (via The Korea Times)

Samsung Pay is presently the third-largest mobile payment service in Korea, but the platform could face competition from Apple soon. Market watchers say that iPhone users in Korea could gain the option to make mobile payments using Apple Pay in mid-H1 2023. In other words, Apple could release its Pay platform in March-April.

Whether or not Apple will choose to bring Pay to Korea is unclear. Regulators are OK with the prospect, but Apple has yet to confirm the release of Pay in Samsung’s homeland. Nevertheless, given all the previous reports, the company has been waiting for this moment for a long time and may launch a counter-attack on Samsung Pay this year.

By the end of 2022, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, and Samsung Pay were Korea’s three largest mobile payment providers. They were followed by Toss and PayCo in the fourth and fifth places, respectively (via Mordor Intelligence). Other players are Smile Pay, Rocket Pay, SSG Pay, SK Pay, L Pay, and Zero Pay.