"Let's Not Meet"… Delivery Food 'Face-to-Face Payment' Dramatically Decreases

Increase in Contactless Payments for Delivery Food Orders Due to the Spread of COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] Due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), non-face-to-face payments when ordering delivery food have increased, while on-site payments made face-to-face have decreased.

According to delivery startup Barogo on the 15th, an analysis of the 'payment methods of delivery order customers' from the 4th to the 10th of this month showed that the proportion of prepaid orders increased by 6 percentage points compared to January 4th to 10th, before the spread of COVID-19. On-site payments decreased from 43% to 37% during the same period.

In the domestic market-leading delivery application (app) "Baedal Minjok," the proportion of "Baro Payment" orders, where customers pay at the time of ordering, was found to be about 93% as of early March. The proportion of Baro Payment orders first exceeded 90% in August last year and has increased to around 93% since January 20th (91.17%), when the first domestic COVID-19 case was confirmed. Baro Payment is included in the recommended measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as it eliminates the process of exchanging cards between riders and customers.

This is interpreted as consumers preferring prepaid methods for non-face-to-face delivery orders after the spread of COVID-19, along with the influence of each delivery app’s prepaid inducement "Safe Delivery Campaign." Baedal Minjok has posted the "Nationwide Safe Delivery Guidelines" at the top of the app since last month to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and has partially revamped the order-related user interface. On the order page where payment methods are selected, users can see guidance such as "Instead of meeting the rider face-to-face for payment, please try paying directly through the app." Additionally, in the section where customers can write requests to the rider, the phrase "Please leave it at the door and ring the bell" is pre-filled as a default example to assist customers with non-face-to-face orders.

Yogiyo also added a "Safe Delivery Feature" this month to allow non-face-to-face order requests. Customers can simply check the safe delivery checkbox placed at the top of the order request section on the menu selection and delivery payment page, automatically enabling the non-face-to-face delivery function with messages like "Please leave it at the door and call." Previously, this feature was selectable through separate message settings, but it has been moved to the top for COVID-19 prevention, making it easier for customers to choose and encouraging non-face-to-face delivery. For customers who choose on-site payment, where they receive food and pay directly, Yogiyo recommends non-face-to-face payment through "Yogiyo 1-second Payment" or "Yogiyo Payment."

An industry official from the delivery app sector said, "Non-face-to-face delivery can protect the health of both riders working on the front lines and consumers," and added, "We ask customers to make prepaid payments when ordering through delivery apps for non-face-to-face delivery."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.