Google might launch Google Pay in South Korea

A few weeks ago, we learned that the Cupertino-based tech giant Apple debuted its Apple Pay in South Korea. As a result, the South Korean tech giant was forced to strengthen and reconsider its own mobile payment service in the region. Some previous reports suggested that Samsung Pay could implement a transaction fee for financial organizations and partner banks. However, the reports were not correct since the company did not take any such steps.

According to some recent pieces of information, the tech giant Google is planning to introduce its payment service, i.e., Google Pay, in South Korea. As per the information provided by ETNews, the Korean publication, Google Pay is possibly working for a few South Korean users. Do note that the app is not available on the Play Store yet. However, users were able to access it from an APK file of Google Pay available from trusted third-party sources. Earlier, the app would remain stuck, displaying an “update in progress” notification long after the APK had been installed.

Although some users now have access to the app, they can’t register their local debit or credit cards. For registration purposes, a Wise Multi-Currency Card from the UK is required. Only then users could make payments in stores. It seems like some local retailers are accepting payments through Google Pay. Although the launch of Google Pay in South Korea is not yet official, There are quite some chances that the service might be introduced to South Korean users, given that Google has been trying since 2017 to introduce Google Pay in South Korea.

Mobile payment services like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay rely on biometric verification in order to make a payment. On the other hand, authentication of payments on Google Pay simply requires unlocking the phone. Well, Google will be required to put in extra effort in order to compete with Samsung Pay.