06 January 2025 - HIVEX® Launches MPM Cross-Border Mobile Payment Service in South Korea, Injecting New Momentum into Travel

For 2025, South Korea is HIVEX’s First Market Launch; More to Come

Seoul, South Korea; Taipei, Taiwan; January 6, 2025 – TBCASoft announced at its annual press conference on October 15, 2024, that it will collaborate with ZeroPay, the national QR Code payment standard launched by the South Korean government, and ICB, a cross-border fintech company, to jointly launch a cross-border mobile payment service in South Korea. After three months of preparation, the HIVEX® cross-border payment platform will go live at 11:00 AM (Korean time) on January 6, 2025 across South Korea. ZeroPay will connect its network of MPM (consumer scans merchant’s QR code) affiliated merchants to the HIVEX cross-border payment platform, greatly enhancing the payment convenience for HIVEX travelers in South Korea. Taiwan’s PXPay Plus users will be the first to enjoy a more convenient and secure payment experience while traveling in South Korea.

Taiwanese Love Traveling to South Korea: Food, Shopping, and Beauty!

According to the latest data released by VisitKorea, the monthly number of Taiwanese visitors to South Korea reached 119,505 in November 2024, and the total number of arrivals from January to November 2024 surpassed 1.35 million, with an average of over 120,000 Taiwanese travelers visiting South Korea every month. Korea ranks as the 3rd most popular travel destination for Taiwanese people. Whether it’s for a culinary journey, visiting trending Instagram-worthy spots, or purchasing premium brand products designed exclusively for South Korea, it has become one of the top choices for Taiwanese outbound travelers. With growing consumer potential from Taiwanese visitors, HIVEX, in collaboration with the South Korean government, is bringing even more convenient cross-border mobile payment services to South Korea. Taiwanese travelers to South Korea can now simply open their familiar mobile payment apps and complete transactions at major convenience stores (GS25 and 7-ELEVEN), department stores, medical beauty clinics, and traditional markets and save 1.5% in overseas credit card processing fees. This seamless and smooth payment experience is expected to further fuel the travel boom of Taiwanese visitors to South Korea.

HIVEX Expands into South Korea with Two Major Partners: ZeroPay and ICB

ZeroPay, introduced by the South Korean government, is a national QR Code payment standard designed to enhance payment convenience and reduce transaction costs. ZeroPay achieves broader cross-border payment connections through collaboration with ICB’s strong international payment infrastructure. When using ZeroPay, consumers simply scan the merchant’s QR code to easily complete payments, with the payment amount directly transferred to the merchant’s account, eliminating traditional credit card processing fees. Since merchants are not required to pay credit card fees, an increasing number of businesses are joining the ZeroPay ecosystem. Currently, over 1.9 million merchants support ZeroPay, reflecting its widespread adoption in South Korea.

HIVEX’s collaboration with ICB allows it to seamlessly integrate into ZeroPay’s existing payment infrastructure in South Korea. By utilizing HIVEX’s unique QR-Bridging technology, Taiwanese travelers in South Korea can easily make payments using their trusted mobile payment app for every transaction. Through this technology, merchants can quickly enable ZeroPay without needing to modify their existing POS systems, thereby reducing operational hassle.

ICB provides mobile payment, cross-border remittance, and other solutions, with a strong payment network and settlement system. By integrating ICB’s cross-border payment technology with ZeroPay’s vast payment network in South Korea, they further expand the coverage of their payment systems, allowing HIVEX travelers to enjoy more convenience across South Korea.

Building on HIVEX’s Success in Japan: Replicating the Model in South Korea

Within 12 months from launch in Japan, HIVEX successfully achieved full coverage for Taiwanese travelers. Nearly every consumption scenario for Taiwanese travelers in Japan now supports HIVEX’s cross-border mobile payment service. Based on HIVEX’s internal data, the proportion of Taiwanese travelers using mobile payments in Japan has significantly increased, demonstrating the huge potential of cross-border mobile payments in the travel market. Building on its success in Japan, HIVEX is now turning its attention to South Korea. By integrating with South Korea’s electronic payment systems, HIVEX expects to achieve full coverage in South Korea in a shorter time frame. This expansion plan will not only further enhance the HIVEX travelers’ payment experience in South Korea but is also expected to promote the adoption of cross-border payments in the South Korean market.

www.hivexnet.net

About TBCASoft

TBCASoft is a U.S.-based company developing innovative blockchain technology, such as the HIVEX Network, for MPSPs and other growth sectors. Its consortium-based blockchain platform enables MPSPs to create innovative services for their users under a more secure, robust, and efficient environment.

About the HIVEX Network

The HIVEX Network is an international membership of Mobile Payment Service Providers (MPSP) that facilitate the sharing of merchants. TBCASoft provides proprietary technologies that optimize transaction processing and clearing between payment service providers and any other companies approved to participate in the HIVEX Network.

Furthermore, the Network is a collaboration with leading MPSPs in Japan, Taiwan and South Korea. HIVEX enables MPSP users to continue using their trusted mobile payment applications to make CPM, MPM or Dynamic-QR purchases at HIVEX Accepted Merchants across Japan and South Korea.

Media contacts:

TBCASoft, Inc. (USA)
marketing@tbcasoft.com