WorldWide Tech & Science. Francisco De Jesús.
The government of South Korea is set to support the widespread rollout of NFC technology, according to a Reuters report. The plan is to install or upgrade 300,000 payment terminals in stores or transport hubs, as well as requiring vendors to add contactless commerce support to new smartphones.
The report said that, currently, just two NFC-enabled devices have been made available by vendors, with one each from Samsung and Pantech, while the country also lacks a standardised settlement regime. The country's Communications Commission described its latest plan as “a small step toward mutual growth going forward.”
The moves by the South Korean authorities come as companies such as Google look to introduce their own mobile payment services. Reuters notes that the South Korean market has some unusual attributes which make it well-suited for the adoption of NFC technology, such as the fact that operators SK Telecom and KT have equity holdings in credit card companies Hana Card and BC Card, respectively.
Contactless payments have seen significant adoption in Japan, which has led to adoption of the technology ahead of other global markets. SK Telecom has previously announced a deal to work with Japanese operators KDDI and SoftBank Mobile to introduce a compatible NFC platform.
