Did COVID-19 Change Payment Methods for Utility Bills? ... Busan Pays by 'Mobile'

Busan City to Launch 'Visible' Service First in 17 Cities and Provinces Starting December 7

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Has COVID-19 changed the way water bills are paid?

The service for paying water bills via non-face-to-face mobile methods will be launched throughout Busan for the first time among all metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide.

Busan City (Acting Mayor Byun Seong-wan) Waterworks Headquarters announced on the 1st that starting December 7, it will implement the ‘High-quality, Visible Water Bill ARS Payment Service’ using a non-face-to-face mobile payment method, the first of its kind in the waterworks sector among 17 cities and provinces.

This service improves the visit-type water bill payment methods using bank CD/ATM and convenience stores, allowing users to conveniently pay water bills anytime and anywhere 365 days a year with just a smartphone.

To use the service, users must call the Waterworks Headquarters ARS main number and install the visible ARS file following the voice guidance. This only needs to be done once for the first use.

After that, users can use options displayed on the smartphone screen such as ▲bill inquiry and payment ▲automatic bill payment application and cancellation ▲self meter reading.

When applying for automatic water bill payment via credit card or bank account, users can receive a 1% discount on the water bill (up to 5,000 KRW).

Lee Geun-hee, head of Busan City Waterworks Headquarters, said, “The service being introduced this time actively reflects the trend of preferring non-face-to-face payment methods due to COVID-19.”

He added, “Not only can you conveniently pay water bills with a smartphone in a safe environment, but it is also easy to use because no certified digital signature is required.”

The non-face-to-face voice-type water bill payment service using the familiar ‘phone’ was first implemented in 2015, and usage has more than doubled every year. Currently, it serves over 50,000 users and collects more than 10 billion KRW in fees.

Following this trend, the Waterworks Headquarters introduced the automatic water bill payment service via credit card and bank account for the first time nationwide in 2016, and in 2017, it introduced real-time account verification services linked with the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, continuously improving payment methods.