Osegi
Business·2 min read

Kakao Bank Debit Cards Briefly Work With Apple Pay in South Korea

For about 100 minutes, Kakao Bank debit cards could be added to Apple Wallet and used in stores, fueling expectations that the Apple Pay launch is close.

An iPhone showing a debit card being added to Apple Wallet and used for a contactless payment at a store terminal.
Image: 미래를 보는 창 - 전자신문
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Kakao Bank debit cards were briefly available in Apple Pay in South Korea on Monday evening, and some users completed real in-store payments before access was shut off.

From around 7 p.m. on November 9, iPhone users could add a Kakao Bank debit card to Apple Wallet. Some succeeded in paying with the registered card, including with the Kakao Bank mini card, a prepaid payment instrument for users under 18. Customers who had been issued the card as teenagers and kept using it appear to be among those who registered and paid successfully.

Registered customers also received a KakaoTalk notification in Kakao Bank's name saying that Apple Pay setup was complete and the card could be used anywhere the Apple Pay mark is displayed. The Kakao Bank app also showed the Apple Pay terms of use.

Access closed within 100 minutes

At around 8:40 p.m. the same day, payments and new card registrations were blocked. Cards already added to Apple Wallet began to be deleted in sequence, and by about 9:30 p.m. all pre-registered cards had reportedly been removed. The terms are no longer visible.

The move follows earlier signs of preparation on the merchant side: Toss Payments had notified merchants that Kakao Bank debit cards would be supported on Apple Pay and asked them to check their existing payment systems.

What comes next

As with other card issuers and Toss Bank, completion of the financial regulator's review is described as the remaining hurdle before an official launch. An industry source said the feature was probably opened to ordinary users while Apple Pay payments were being tested with the mini card, and that other issuers had already run internal payment tests with employees. In the source's view, part of the internal testing was exposed externally, and Kakao Bank, like KB Kookmin Card, Shinhan Card and Toss Bank, has finished preparations and is now coordinating its launch timing.

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Tags:kakao bankapple payapple walletsouth koreafintechdebit card

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