Samsung Financial Launches 'Monimo Pay'... Hot Pursuit of Toss and KakaoBank [1mm Financial Talk]

Monimo Pay Launches on the 10th... Payment via QR and Barcode
Enhancing Competitiveness with MyData and Monimo Account

Samsung Financial Networks has added online and offline pay services to its integrated financial application (app) ‘Monimo’. In a situation where it was trailing behind in the financial sector’s ‘super app’ competition, the company plans to enhance competitiveness with Monimo as its ambitious flagship product.

According to the financial sector on the 11th, Samsung Financial Networks (Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, Samsung Card, Samsung Securities) launched the payment service ‘Monimo Pay’ using Samsung Card on the integrated platform Monimo the day before. The existing Monimo app did not support in-app payments, so users had to run the Samsung Card app to make payments.

Monimo Pay supports online and offline payments through QR code and barcode methods. For mobile payments, users can select Samsung Card at online shopping malls and then make payments through the Monimo Pay payment window. They can scan a QR code or enter a 7-digit numeric code. For on-site payments, barcode payment services can be used at partner franchise stores such as GS25, CU, Emart24, and 7-Eleven.

A representative from Samsung Financial Networks said, “We have started providing a service that allows online and offline payments using Samsung Card and Monimo’s prepaid recharge fund ‘Monimoney’ within the Monimo app,” adding, “This is to provide more convenient services to Monimo users.”

Monimo is an integrated platform launched in April 2022 by financial affiliates under the Samsung Group. After Samsung financial companies introduced their brand identity (BI) as Samsung Financial Networks, they also challenged the digital financial market. Since the combined number of members of Samsung Financial Networks reaches between 23 million and 25 million, it was expected to have a significant impact on the fintech (finance + technology) industry using customer data as a weapon.

However, the industry consensus is that Monimo has been sluggish so far. This is due to the fact that various services within Monimo did not differ significantly from the functions of existing financial platforms. According to Mobile Index, Monimo’s monthly active users (MAU) were about 4.8 million as of March, the second year after its launch. During the same period, competing financial apps Toss and KakaoBank recorded MAUs of 17 million and 15 million, respectively.

Accordingly, Samsung Financial Networks has begun efforts to revitalize Monimo in line with the super app competition in the financial sector. On the 4th of last month, it signed a business agreement with KB Kookmin Bank to launch deposit and withdrawal accounts for Monimo members. The plan is to design a structure that adds benefits according to Monimo usage frequency. Samsung Financial Networks and Kookmin Bank are undergoing the Financial Services Commission’s innovative financial service designation process for the product launch.

In November last year, it launched a MyData (personal credit information management) service. Since the MyData service was introduced late due to major shareholder eligibility issues, it is said to have differentiated itself by gathering data from various sectors in one place. Monimo provides analysis results in various areas such as consumption, investment, insurance, pensions, and health. Samsung Card’s major shareholder, Samsung Life Insurance, was previously subject to a heavy disciplinary action from financial authorities, which hindered its entry into new businesses.