This undated file photo provided by Kakao Pay shows its headquarters in Pangyo, south of Seoul.
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Kakao Pay Corp., South Korea’s No. 1 mobile payment service provider, said Monday that it took its first step into the insurance market by applying for preliminary approval for a digital non-life insurance service.
Kakao Pay aims to obtain final approval and launch the digital non-life insurance business by the end of this year.
To this end, the company plans to take the required administrative steps, including preliminary approval, corporation establishment and main license approval.
Kakao Pay intends to become the nation’s first fintech-led digital non-life insurance platform.
Under the concept of insurance technology, better known as Insurtech, to protect users from everyday risks, Kakao Pay plans to focus on improving awareness of insurance and eliminating blind spots in insurance coverage.
During the initial phase, the company will focus on car insurance with standardized product structure and short-term and small amount insurance.
The insurance industry is on high alert as Kakao Pay enters the insurance market with explosive potential.
“For existing digital non-life insurers, it took a substantial amount of time and money to expand their market share.” an industry official said.
“Kakao Pay, however, has great potential to boost its market share within a relatively short period of time thanks to its tie-up with the industry-leading platform Kakao.”
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
