[2020 National Audit] 'Toss' Tops Complaints Among Simple Payment Companies

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Kim] Viva Republica, which operates the mobile financial service Toss, has been found to have received the most complaints among simple payment companies.

According to the 'Complaint Receipt Status of Simple Payment Companies (Electronic Financial Operators) in the Last 3 Years' submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Yoon Chang-hyun, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, complaints against Viva Republica totaled 117 cases (18.3%).

This was followed by Kakao Pay (101 cases, 15.8%), Settle Bank (54 cases, 8.5%), NHN Payco (42 cases, 6.6%), and Naver Financial (34 cases, 5.3%).

In the number of complaints received this year as well, Viva Republica ranked first with 41 cases (18.1%). Kakao Pay (36 cases, 15.9%) and Naver Financial (27 cases, 11.9%) followed.

The main types of complaints for these companies, as revealed by the Financial Supervisory Service to Yoon’s office, were ▲ amounts canceled due to system errors not refunded to the app-linked account ▲ omission of facial recognition step during the payment process (verification records confirmed to be normally retained upon fact-checking) ▲ inconvenience in additional identity verification methods.

Representative Yoon said, "It is contradictory that simple payments chosen for convenience cause inconvenience," adding, "Big tech companies should promptly handle complaints, and the Financial Supervisory Service should flexibly apply related regulations to reduce consumer dissatisfaction."