Nowadays, people can pay by mobile phone at the market or online. ‘Simple Payment Service’ is a typical service to pay by mobile phone that most people already have used or heard of. It allows for the simple use of smartphones to pay for goods and services without complicated procedures or the need for cash/check cards.
Simple Payment Service is easy and quick because it does not require an authorized certificate or security program like Active X. This has led to major changes in the payment paradigm of financial and settlement markets. Although Simple Payment Services are spreading all over the world, companies are still trying to develop more convenient ways for consumers to pay. Then what new methods of payment will be introduced in the future?
Kakao, Naver, Samsung, and NHN are companies that lead the Tech-fin industry. Tech-fin is a compound of technology and finance, which essentially means an IT company that supplies financial services. The Simple Payment Service is a representative of the Tech-fin industry. It has basically a condition to pay online. Its function and utilization are different company by company. For example, ‘Samsung pay’ can be used by registering your own cards in the smartphone and touching the smartphone to a card reader. On the other hand, with ‘Kakao pay,’ you can recharge money into your account and use it online or in stores. Simple Payment Services, including Samsung pay and Kakao pay also have utilities like remittance, investment, exchange, etc.
Simple Payment Services began in the USA. eBay, an e-commerce business, acquired PayPal in 2002, and subsequently launched it as its primary payment method. This helped PayPal spread to 202 countries and 25 currencies. After the widespread success of such types of online payment services, Simple Payment Service spread. Apple Pay and Amazon Pay services also emerged from the USA.
In China, a service using QR codes has spread widely because it can be used easily and immediately anywhere in China. According to KITA, the Korea International Trade Association, China has 71.4% usage rate of mobile settlement, which is 2.7 times more than that of Korea. China has such a large proportion because of low fees and no need for possession of some applications or terminals.
As such, the world is becoming concerned about a paradigm of such settlements. Companies that use Simple Payment Services hope their financial transactions are simple. Companies also make diverse services to compete with other companies’ services and they want to develop their financial services better. For example, Kakao makes insurance products in Korea. Last November, ‘Naver Financial’ was established, which means that they will now lead financial business. Card companies are connected with cards and they charge a fee for their use. According to Sim Jun-seok, the Shanghai branch manager of KITA, Korea has to develop Simple Payment Services based on the high distribution rate of credit cards.
In addition to Simple Payment Service, a new currency has emerged. For example, Facebook said they will release the cryptocurrency ‘Libra’ based on the Block Chain technology in 2020. Facebook production manager, Kevin Welsh states, “We hope to make remittances as simple as text messaging.” But it is under development, so it’s hanging in the air so to speak. The application Calibra, which is Libra’s electronic wallet, is used not only Facebook but other companies as well. However, operation problems are left for external companies because there are various problems in addition to the security problems. If Libra is released, it may cause economic turmoil because it is making a new currency. Facebook has many users, so it is easy to collect data with Libra users.
The paradigm of settlement system changes from credit card to smart phones and Simple Payment Services are developing gradually around the world. Can we expect another type of transaction? No one knows at the moment. But we can expect something new and interesting thanks to people who continue to innovate within the Tech-fin industry.
