Hanacard Signs Agreement with Busan City to Foster Fintech Industry

Expansion of WeChat Pay Infrastructure Preferred by Chinese Tourists
Development of Platform Based on Foreign Card Payment Data

Acting Mayor of Busan, Byun Sung-wan (left), and Jang Kyung-hoon, CEO of Hana Card (right), signed the 'Fintech Industry Promotion Agreement' at Busan City Hall on the afternoon of the 20th.

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] Hana Card has partnered with Busan City to foster the fintech industry.

Hana Card announced on the 21st that it signed a fintech industry promotion agreement with Busan City at the 26th-floor conference room of Busan City Hall. The signing ceremony held the previous day was attended by Jang Kyung-hoon, CEO of Hana Card, Busan City’s Acting Mayor Byun Sung-wan, and about 20 others including fintech companies, small business owners, merchant associations, and tourism industry representatives.

This agreement between Hana Card and Busan City is a public-private cooperation project preparing for the post-COVID-19 era and the 4th Industrial Revolution, aimed at creating various collaboration opportunities by discovering promising fintech companies in Busan, a financial hub.

Through this, Hana Card will be able to enhance its brand awareness in the Busan area and create new business opportunities through collaboration with fintech companies. Additionally, Busan City will be able to provide differentiated financial services using new fintech technologies, laying the foundation for revitalizing the local economy by increasing foreign tourists and stimulating consumption.

The main contents of the agreement include ▲ expanding Busan City’s WeChat Pay payment infrastructure ▲ developing and operating a platform based on foreign card payment data and developing global financial fintech apps ▲ supporting big data for foreigners.

Hana Card, which was the first in Korea to introduce WeChat Pay and currently holds over 60% market share domestically, has secured major nationwide large merchants and key merchants in Seoul and, based on its know-how in providing WeChat Pay services, has started developing a platform for WeChat Pay payments in major tourist spots and traditional market commercial districts in Busan. The company plans to continuously provide services suited for the post-COVID-19 era through this platform.

To operate WeChat Pay merchant approval relay and manage merchants, Busan City selected a fintech company as a partner to share Hana Card’s operational know-how, which is expected to contribute to strengthening the financial payment technology self-reliance of the partner company, according to the company.

Hana Card holds the largest amount of foreign card payment data among domestic card companies (60% market share) and has begun developing a platform that allows foreign tourists to use it conveniently and easily in Busan by precisely analyzing big data on foreign card usage. Based on this, the company will continuously provide high-quality data to Busan City’s Big Data Lab, enabling Busan City, related organizations, fintech companies, and the tourism industry to develop new platforms across various fields.

CEO Jang said, “I hope this agreement between Busan City and Hana Card will bring significant development to Busan’s fintech industry,” and added, “Hana Card also expects this to be a good opportunity to enhance brand awareness and discover new businesses in Busan, a financial hub.”

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