South Korea’s fintech landscape
The fintech market was dominated by the mobile payments sector at an early stage. As a country with one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, an easier way of payment to satisfy e-commerce users was needed. Following the abolition of the compulsory use of public key certificates for online payments in 2015, more and more fintech companies began to offer mobile payment services. Since then, an increasing number of South Koreans have been using mobile payment methods. Users register their credit cards with the mobile payment service provider, which enables them to make payments using just a passcode or fingerprint scan, bypassing the authentication process previously required. All they need is a smartphone, whether online or offline.While mobile banking is on the rise, alternative financing such as crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending has attracted investors of all generations as well. Recently, Korean fintech companies and financial institutions have also begun to explore the possibilities of a collaborative system. The insurance industry, for example, has started to invest in the fintech sector and promote startups in the insurtech space.