Danal to Launch Zalopay Payment Service in Korea, Expanding Strategic Partnership with Vietnamese Firm

Danal is set to actively pursue domestic payment services for Zalopay, the national payment method of Vietnam, in a bid to target the foreigner payment market in Korea, which is estimated at 56 trillion won annually.

Danal, a company specializing in integrated payment business, announced on September 15 that it will work with Vietnam's Zion Joint Stock Company to directly link Zalopay to domestic online and offline payment networks.

Earlier this year, the two companies formed a strategic partnership and announced support for Zalopay within Danal's "foreign student tuition payment" service. This service, which supports payment methods familiar to international students from various countries such as PayPal and WeChat Pay, has been growing rapidly and is currently partnered with and operating at more than 100 universities in Korea. With the addition of Zalopay, which is linked to Zalo, Vietnam's national messenger, the service has now firmly established itself as the number one domestic offering in its category.

The two companies have focused on the rapidly increasing number of Vietnamese residents in Korea, including international students, tourists, and migrant workers, and have agreed to connect their payment networks for Vietnamese users. According to statistics, the number of Vietnamese tourists visiting Korea increased rapidly after the COVID-19 endemic, reaching approximately 510,000 in 2024, a 21.6% increase compared to the previous year. The number of migrant workers during the same period was about 310,000, making them the second largest group among foreign workers in Korea.

Accordingly, Danal plans to establish a network that will allow Vietnamese people to make payments with Zalopay anywhere in Korea using QR codes and barcodes. The company will start by expanding payment coverage at offline shops frequently visited by foreigners, such as convenience stores, household goods stores, and beauty stores. Danal already provides offline QR payment services with WeChat Pay for Chinese residents in Korea, so rapid activation of the new service is expected.

In addition, Danal will simultaneously link its online payment network so that Vietnamese users can easily purchase K-content and Korean products from Vietnam. As with Danal's existing "global integrated payment" service, users will be able to purchase services from domestic partner merchants using local payment methods, and the process is expected to be simple and convenient without the need for complicated procedures such as foreigner identity verification.

A Danal representative stated, "Due to Korea's economic development and the influence of Hallyu culture, there is a strong positive perception of Korea in Vietnam, leading to rapid market growth in areas such as overseas study, tourism, and employment. As Korea's leading payment company, we will enable Vietnamese users to freely use Zalopay both online and offline in Korea, contributing not only to the joint growth of both companies but also to the activation of exchanges between the two countries."

Meanwhile, Danal also plans to quickly supply its "All-in-One Prepaid Card for Foreigners" service, which will be launched in October, to Vietnamese users. This service will include all the functions needed by foreigners residing in Korea, such as payment, deposit/withdrawal, and transportation card features. Danal plans to rapidly install dedicated kiosks at tourist attractions, universities across the country, and industrial complexes. In addition, with the expected increase in transaction volume due to the visa-free entry of Chinese group tourists during the same period, Danal's foreigner payment services are expected to rapidly expand their market influence within the year.

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