Smartro Launches ‘Prepay’ Supporting Apple Pay Payments

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] KT’s financial and telecommunications affiliate Smartro announced on the 24th that it has developed and launched the ‘Prepay’ app, the first VAN company to enable small and medium-sized merchants to accept Apple Pay payments.

To use Apple Pay, which is expected to launch soon in Korea, self-employed business owners must bear the cost of replacing terminals, which can be up to 200,000 KRW. To address this, Smartro has developed and is offering for free the Prepay application, the first VAN company to allow smartphones to be used as Apple Pay payment terminals.

Through the Prepay service, small and medium-sized merchants can conveniently process payments from iPhone users without the high cost of replacing terminals, and Apple Pay payments will become even more convenient, Smartro explained.

Previously, to prepare for the launch of Apple Pay in Korea, Smartro made proactive investments last year in introducing and developing the EMV Contactless payment authentication solution.

Prepay provides online activation through the sales and deposit management app ‘Bizzle’. Merchants with card affiliations can easily apply and use the service by simply searching for and installing Bizzle from the Google Play Store. Even without a dedicated payment terminal, all payments including credit cards, cash receipts, QR codes, Apple Pay, and Samsung Pay are possible anytime and anywhere using only a smartphone.

Small and medium-sized merchants currently using Prepay can upgrade for free to enable Apple Pay payments. Additionally, sales generated through Prepay can be conveniently managed in an integrated manner via Bizzle.

Jang Gildong, CEO of Smartro, stated, “We will continue to expand convenient and cost-saving payment services to help small business owners, who are struggling with rising raw material and labor costs, to successfully operate their core businesses.”

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