KB Kookmin Card 'KB Pay', Challenges Kukmin Pay (Comprehensive)

Money Transfer and Currency Exchange Without Additional Apps
Payment Possible with Gift Certificates and Points
No Usage Restrictions at Offline Merchants
On-site Payment Overseas via QR Code
Foundation Laid for Number One Financial Platform

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] The 'Pay' war has entered its full-fledged second round. KB Kookmin Card has joined the Pay war by launching 'KB Pay,' a comprehensive financial platform that adds financial services such as remittance and currency exchange along with membership functions. As KB, a latecomer, counterattacks by leveraging the group’s specialized comprehensive financial service capabilities, the competition for dominance in postpaid payment among financial institutions, big tech companies, fintech (finance + IT), and distribution companies is expected to intensify further.

KB Pay Enables Payment with Gift Certificates and Points, Also Supports Easy Account Transfers and Foreign Exchange

On the 15th, KB Kookmin Card improved the functions of its existing mobile application 'KB Kookmin App Card' and launched KB Pay, enhancing payment convenience and scalability.

This service is characterized by allowing the registration and use of payment methods beyond just credit and debit cards, including accounts, gift certificates, and points. KB Kookmin Bank accounts, Happy Money gift certificates, KB Kookmin prepaid cards, and KB Kookmin Card points can be registered. In the future, the range of registrable payment methods will be expanded mainly to accounts of various affiliated financial companies such as banks, securities firms, and savings banks, as well as providers of gift certificate and point services.

Unlike other simple payment services, it has secured payment convenience and versatility at offline merchants comparable to plastic cards. This is achieved through the adoption of various payment methods such as Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST), Near Field Communication (NFC), and QR codes. For overseas payments, it is currently possible to make on-site payments without a physical card using QR code methods at offline overseas merchants of UnionPay. In the future, using NFC functionality, overseas merchant payments with Visa and MasterCard and ATM withdrawal services will also be added.

KB Pay allows users to access various financial services and membership services such as easy account transfers, overseas remittances, and foreign currency exchange without installing an additional app. Customers who subscribe to the service can easily transfer money to desired accounts through bank accounts registered in KB Kookmin Bank’s Liiv app, and can also use KB Kookmin Bank’s foreign currency exchange service via virtual accounts. Additionally, membership services for CU and GS25 are provided, and mobile transportation card functions for buses, subways, and taxis are available. KB Kookmin Card plans to further strengthen financial and lifestyle convenience services by introducing remote payment support services for tuition fees and electronic notification services in the future.

KB Kookmin Card Aims to Become the 'Number One Financial Platform Company'

Through KB Pay, KB Kookmin Card aspires to lay the foundation for KB Financial Group to leap forward as the 'number one financial platform company.' Previously, KB Financial Group Chairman Yoon Jong-kyu stated at the 12th anniversary ceremony of KB Financial Group last month, "We must become the 'number one financial platform' based on KB’s unique digital capabilities."

In the rapidly growing simple payment market, KB Financial Group plans to gain an advantage through its specialized comprehensive financial service capabilities. As online payments increase with the digitalization of payment environments, the simple payment market is rapidly expanding. According to the Bank of Korea, the average daily usage amount of simple payments in the first half of this year was 213.9 billion KRW, a sharp increase of 35.4% compared to the same period last year. This is the first time the average daily usage amount has exceeded 200 billion KRW. During the same period, the number of transactions also increased by 37.7% to 7.31 million.

A KB Kookmin Card official said, "Based on scalability and openness, we plan to cooperate with various partners to grow into a truly 'open comprehensive financial platform' that transcends industry boundaries."

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