THE KOREA ECONOMIC DAILY, GLOBAL EDITION

South Korea’s BC Card announced on Wednesday that it will introduce the Taiwanese QR payment method TWQR in the domestic market for Taiwanese tourists.

The company collaborated with the Taiwan Banking Association and Financial Information Service Co. (FISC.)

This enables Taiwanese tourists to make hassle-free payments at BC Card's QR-affiliated merchants in South Korea without the need for currency exchange or downloading separate apps.

Taiwanese tourists, who previously accounted for a mere 0.4% of total foreign visitors to Korea in 2021, have seen their numbers grow to 8.8% in the past year, as per the Tourism Knowledge Information System.

The integration of TWQR into the Korean payment system is expected to further encourage tourism and spending from Taiwan.

BC Card and its partners plan to extend this service by integrating TWQR payments with Zero Pay QR merchants, thereby expanding the QR payment network in Korea.

Additionally, collaborative efforts will focus on developing content and services leveraging the channels of both companies, enhancing the payment experience for users.

Write to Mi-Hyun Jo at mwise@hankyung.com