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Apple Pay reportedly caused a surge in the number of Hyundai Card users, where it reportedly saw a 75% on-month increase. The latter is the first partner of Apple’s mobile payment system in South Korea, and it was just recently launched in the country.
According to The Korea Herald, in the first month since Apple Pay was activated in South Korea, many locals immediately applied for a Hyundai Card. The launch apparently helped boost Hyundai Motor Group’s credit card unit, and it happened in just a short time.
Based on the data gathered from the Credit Finance Association of Korea, the number of new members who recently signed up for the Hyundai Card increased by 203,000. The figure slowly grew after Apple Pay was introduced on March 21.
The increase was said to be the highest recorded last month among the eight leading local credit card issuers, such as Hana Financial, Lotte, Samsung, Woori Bank, Shinhan Bank, BC, KB Kookmin Card, and Hyundai Card.
The figure is said to be twice the count of new members that the Hyundai Card recorded in February, which was 116,000. Experts in the industry opined that the increase may have been triggered by people’s interest in trying out a new mobile payment system. And Apple Pay is operated by a popular American tech which boosted its appeal to the masses.
Meanwhile, out of the 2.9 million stores in South Korea, it was estimated that only 100,000 could have secured requirements to be able to allow Apple Pay payments. These stores may be the only ones that have NFC readers that will work with Apple Pay, so this could be one of the downsides of a new mobile service option.
