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Apple Pay is reportedly arriving in South Korea but the exact date of launch has been confusing. Based on the reports this week, some media outlets stated it will be activated in the country on Nov. 30 but others said it will be in December.
The Korean market and retailers are said to be all set for Apple Pay’s arrival. However, Apple Inc. has yet to release a statement of confirmation about this. In the latest update, since the California-based tech firm’s mobile payment service did not arrive on Nov. 30, reports stated that the launch has been delayed.
They are now saying that Apple Pay is likely to be available in the country at some point in December. In a phone interview with The Korea Times on Wednesday this week, an official from Hyundai Card said that it is a major partner in bringing Apple’s payment service to South Korea.
When asked for more details, he refused to elaborate and remained guarded about speaking more. All that he could say was, "As of now, we cannot confirm any matters regarding Apple Pay."
In any case, business observers said that the delayed launch of Apple Pay could be partly due to the deliberation by the country’s Financial Supervisory Service (FSS). It is still likely to be in discussion about the conditions and other contractual terms of Apple Pay.
They said that once the review is done and everything has been agreed upon, the payment service will be activated and available for use in the country. The assumed December launch is probably to give more time for the FSS to ponder on the matter.
As for the confirmation, it was noted that neither Hyundai Card nor Apple has been silent about Apple Pay’s launch, but various pieces of evidence for its arrival were observed in the past months, and these mostly back the reports of the imminent launch in Korea.
Meanwhile, Pulse News reported that the possible activation of Apple Pay may have an effect on local mobile payment systems such as Samsung Pay. It may also affect the sale of Galaxy mobile phones because it is using its own mobile phone payment service to lock-in local consumers.
