Kakao Pay "Measures to Prevent TMEF Recurrence... WAU Increased by 30%"

As the Tmon and Wemakeprice unpaid settlement crisis spreads to the financial sector, Kakao Pay announced that it is preparing risk management measures. To promote offline payments, it plans to add Samsung Pay functionality within the KakaoTalk application (app) later this month.

On the 6th, Kakao Pay revealed this plan during its Q2 earnings conference call. Baek Seung-jun, Kakao Pay’s business leader, said, "In terms of strengthening risk management related to the Tmon and Wemakeprice unpaid settlement incident, we plan to review and supplement policy aspects such as merchant guarantee insurance enrollment, limit management, and adjustment of settlement cycles." He added, "We will also communicate with financial authorities to propose legal and institutional measures for separate management of sales proceeds to be paid to merchants." He further stated, "Although we plan to take legal actions such as claiming indemnity, since Tmon and Wemakeprice have filed for rehabilitation, actions will be taken according to the court’s decision, so it is difficult to respond at this point in time."

On the same day, Kakao Pay also unveiled new features to promote offline payments. It plans to add a service later this month that allows payment users to access Samsung Pay within the KakaoTalk app. Previously, to use Samsung Pay via Kakao Pay, users had to go through the Kakao Pay app. Baek explained, "Android users who use Kakao Pay will be able to make Samsung Pay payments through both KakaoTalk and Kakao Pay apps," adding, "QR, barcode, and Magnetic Secure Transmission (MST) payment methods will all be available within KakaoTalk."

Earlier, to promote offline payments, Kakao Pay added Samsung Pay and Zero Pay as payment methods in May, and increased advertising expenses by 17.6% year-on-year in Q2 as a promotion for expanding offline payments. As a result, the number of offline payment users surpassed 2 million in March 2022, reached 3 million in March last year, and exceeded 4 million in December last year. This year, it is expected to secure more than 5 million users.

User activity has also strengthened. The weekly active users (WAU) of the Kakao Pay app grew by 30% last month compared to January. Park Jeong-ho, Kakao Pay’s service leader, said, "The Kakao Pay app underwent major updates in Q2 this year, achieving record highs in both monthly active users (MAU) and WAU as of last month," adding, "In the second half of the year, we plan to continue advanced work following the app revamp in the first half and expand connections with financial services."