A customer pays with Apple Pay at a convenience store in Seoul on March 21, 2023. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, May 4 (Korea Bizwire) — A month after its launch in South Korea, Apple Pay has received a positive response from the market, especially among the tech-savvy Generation MZ who value convenience.
As per Hyundai Card Co.’s announcement today, approximately 355,000 new cards were issued, marking a significant increase from the same period last year.
Of these, 91 percent of Apple device users registered for Apple Pay, with 79 percent of new members belonging to the Generation MZ.
Those in their 20s accounted for 51 percent of new members, followed by those in their 30s at 28 percent and those in their 40s at 12 percent.
Apple Pay’s near-field communication (NFC) technology enables fast payments, and the number of newly registered tokens has continued to increase.
However, the current penetration rate of NFC terminals is estimated to be only 10 percent of merchants nationwide, whereas Samsung Pay works wherever cards are accepted.
Hyundai Card Co. advertises the launch of Apple Pay in South Korea on the facade of the Hyundai Card Music Library in Itaewon, central Seoul, on March 21, 2023. (Yonhap)
Additionally, Apple Pay charges a fee of up to 0.15 percent, whereas Samsung Pay hasn’t received any fees from card companies, which is why competing card companies, except for Hyundai Card, are not partnering with Apple Pay.
If Hyundai Card’s growth with Apple Pay continues, it’s likely that competing card companies will eventually join forces with Apple, which could lead to Samsung Pay also charging a fee.
Hyundai Card customers made about 9.3 million payments using Apple Pay by the end of April, with 71 percent of customers using Apple Pay at least once.
Among major convenience stores, GS25 (25 percent) was used the most, and Costco (22 percent) accounted for the largest aggregate transaction amount.
Apple Pay is also being used internationally, with nine percent of all payments made overseas.
Hyundai Card expects the use of Apple Pay overseas to increase from the third quarter of this year, when flights on long-distance routes to Europe, which has a well-developed payment infrastructure, are expected to normalize.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
