Kakao Pay is ramping up its offline payment expansion, aiming to grow monthly offline payment users to 10 million by 2027 as competition intensifies in Korea’s digital payments market.
At a press briefing Tuesday, the financial technology company said it currently has about 6 million monthly offline payment users and plans to accelerate growth through QR-based ordering services, merchant partnerships and artificial intelligence-powered payment features.
“Our goal is to build inclusive payment infrastructure that allows users to pay anywhere, whether or not a store is directly affiliated with Kakao Pay,” said Kim Sang-ok, head of Kakao Pay’s offline payment division.
The company said it has secured 650,000 offline merchants and processed more than 500 million offline payment transactions last year.
A key growth driver is QR Order, a service launched late last year that allows customers to order and pay directly from their seats at restaurants and cafes by scanning QR codes. Kakao Pay said the service has already been introduced or confirmed at about 3,000 stores, with adoption accelerating since the first quarter.
Kakao Pay is also expanding offline payment coverage through broader merchant partnerships, as rivals such as Naver Pay and Toss strengthen their own in-store payment ecosystems using dedicated terminals and hardware.
The company said payments remain the core gateway connecting Kakao Pay’s app ecosystem, rewards programs and broader financial services.
“Kakao Pay’s ultimate goal is to become the first payment service users think of whenever and wherever they need to pay,” said Oh Seung-jun, head of the payment group at Kakao Pay.
The company is also deepening its use of payment data and artificial intelligence to personalize services and improve user engagement.
Kakao Pay said it is developing AI-powered functions that recommend the best payment methods based on users’ spending patterns, card benefits and reward conditions. It is also preparing to integrate payment capabilities into AI-based environments through Kakao services.
The company’s expansion push comes as it posted record first-quarter earnings. Revenue rose 41.7 percent from a year earlier to 300.3 billion won ($202 million), while operating profit surged 630.9 percent to 32.2 billion won.
By Choi Ji-won (jwc@heraldcorp.com)
