Seoul Readies a Mobile Payments Wallet of its Own

Another mobile wallet is about to enter the mobile payments fray, and it’s got a surprisingly tight focus for its target market. The government of Seoul in South Korea is planning its own mobile wallet known as S-Pay, and it’s going to make payments to the Seoul government more convenient overall.

Geared toward individual users and small businesses, the S-Pay system will ultimately partner with banks and relevant small businesses to help drive the system. Reports note that not only will this system prove more convenient, but it will also keep those municipal payments out of credit card processors’ systems. That should lower the burden paid by small businesses and help encourage investment in the country overall.

The system doesn’t actually exist yet; the Seoul government has only just formed a task force around getting the service together and bringing it out, so it will be some time before the service actually goes live. When it does go live, reports note, it will be built around quick response (QR) codes, or a mobile interface in general.

For those who immediately see a problem—why is the Seoul government releasing a mobile payments system when two of the biggest equipment makers in the country, Samsung and LG, have mobile payments systems—with S-Pay, there may be at least a partial solution; the Seoul government is working with Samsung SDS as a way to bring blockchain to government operations.

Additionally, there may not be much of a problem to begin with; the S-Pay system appears pretty limited, dealing basically with government contracts. If S-Pay makes it possible to send money from Samsung Pay or LG Pay to S-Pay, then the issue should be mostly moot anyway. On a side note, S-Pay may want to reconsider its name as it’s opening itself up to ridicule. S-Pay is one hyphen away from a medical procedure for animals, and that’s not a comparison the Seoul government should welcome.

Seoul citizens are likely pretty well-versed in the mobile wallet by now, and if it’s just a tool for government payments then it might save customers some money. A few minor tweaks and a nod to the big private operations in the country and it should be a convenience that does little harm.