"Attract Foreigners" CU Expands to 12 Overseas Payment Methods

CU, Introduction and Expansion of Overseas Payment Methods.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] As the COVID-19 pandemic stabilizes, CU is quickly preparing to welcome foreign customers.

Since the end of March, quarantine exemption measures for overseas arrivals have been eased, and starting next month, the visa-free entry and stay system will resume in Jeju Island, Korea's representative tourist destination, leading to an expected significant increase in foreign visitors.

According to BGF Retail on the 31st, the number of foreign payment method transactions such as Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay in the first quarter of this year increased by 13.1% compared to the same period last year, showing signs of recovery. In particular, since March, the use of foreign payment methods has shown a clear upward trend, with last month's transactions jumping 29.0% compared to last year.

The region with the highest growth rate nationwide was Gyeonggi-do, which increased by an astonishing 2.6 times compared to early this year. Daejeon (2.1 times), Busan (1.9 times), and Seoul (1.8 times) also showed high growth rates around double. Jeju Island, which was a major destination for Chinese tourists before COVID-19, saw a relatively modest increase (1.3 times) due to difficulties with visa-free entry.

In response to the increasing visits of foreign tourists to Korea, CU will add a total of nine new overseas payment methods this year through partnerships with overseas payment companies such as Alipay Plus and BC Card.

Earlier this year, CU newly introduced Alipay Hong Kong through Alipay Plus, and plans to introduce DANA, the Philippine G cash, Thailand's True Money, Malaysia's Touch n’Go, and others within the year.

In collaboration with BC Card, after introducing Vietnam's payment method Napas Card earlier this year, CU plans to sequentially add mobile payment methods used mainly in Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia's GPN.

Including the already operated Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay, CU customers will be able to use a total of 12 overseas payment methods, the most in the industry. The overseas payment services, which were previously centered on Chinese tourists, have recently expanded to nine countries including Vietnam and Malaysia to meet the increasing trend of customers from Southeast Asia.

Yeon Jeongwook, head of marketing at BGF Retail, said, “As the COVID-19 situation stabilizes worldwide, CU is diversifying payment methods so that returning foreign tourists can experience Korea more conveniently and enjoyably. Going forward, CU will continue to provide products and services that satisfy both domestic and international customers as a global franchise.”

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