LG Uplus Introduces 'U+Kiosk' in Offline Stores... "Bill Payment Done in 3 Minutes"

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunmo Koo] LG Uplus is introducing the ‘U+ Kiosk,’ which allows in-store customers to easily handle telecommunications tasks such as USIM activation, fee inquiry, and payment by simple identity verification. It also features English support for foreigners who find it difficult to communicate directly with staff.

LG Uplus announced on the 28th that it will introduce the ‘U+ Kiosk’ in about 30 major offline stores nationwide. Since this month, LG Uplus has been piloting the U+ Kiosk at around 30 stores, including major LG Uplus direct stores frequented by the MZ generation and high foot traffic, as well as Lotte Hi-Mart, Homeplus, and GS25, which are often visited by family members. Considering customer response and store work efficiency, the company plans to consider further expansion within the year.

First, customers who want to activate service using unlocked phones or secondhand phones can visit stores equipped with U+ Kiosks and complete a simple phone and credit card ARS identity verification process to subscribe to a plan and activate a USIM in about three minutes without face-to-face interaction. LG Uplus explained that to increase customer accessibility, U+ Kiosks have been installed not only in their own stores but also in large marts and convenience stores where unlocked phones or budget phone USIMs can be purchased.

Telecommunication tasks such as fee payment, which previously required assistance from store staff, can now be easily handled by customers themselves. LG Uplus expects that this will improve customer convenience and reduce the proportion of repetitive tasks on the store side, thereby enhancing work efficiency for customers who want face-to-face consultation.

Meanwhile, considering store and customer characteristics, U+ Kiosks installed in LG Uplus stores provide LG Uplus functions, GS25 and Homeplus provide budget phone functions, and Lotte Hi-Mart offers both LG Uplus and budget phone functions. Currently, budget phones support ‘U+ Altteul Mobile.’ Functions such as plan changes, number changes, and bill changes will be added to U+ Kiosks supporting LG Uplus functions within the first quarter. Additionally, customers activating USIMs through U+ Kiosks will be offered free USIM purchase costs until the end of February.

Namsoo Kim, Executive Director of Digital Business at LG Uplus, said, “It is similar to how many customers use bank ATMs for simple tasks like remittance that can be done non-face-to-face through apps or websites,” adding, “We hope that U+ Kiosk will be the first step toward non-face-to-face living in telecommunications life as well.”

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