Kakao Pay Corp., a mobile payment and digital wallet service in South Korea has launched an overseas ATM withdrawal service in partnership with Global Loyalty Network (GLN), an overseas payment platform under Hana Bank, to allow users to withdraw national currency in Laos, Vietnam, and Japan using just their mobile phones.
To use the service, users must have the KakaoTalk or Kakao Pay app installed on their phones. Once they have the app, they can withdraw cash at ATMs at BCEL Bank in Laos, BIDV in Vietnam, and Seven Bank in Japan.
The minimum withdrawal amount is LAK 50,000 (USD 2.62) in Laos, VND 100,000 (USD 4.21) in Vietnam, and JPY 1,000 (USD 6.92) in Japan, and the maximum withdrawal amount is KRW 1 million (USD 767) at a time and up to KRW 5 million per month.
According to the Korea Economy Daily, Kakao Pay does not charge any overseas usage fees, making it a more affordable option than traditional card withdrawals. In addition, users who do not have a Hana account can use the GLN service after doing a self-identification through contactless real-name authentication, and users with a Hana account can use the service without separate authentication.
A Kakao Pay source said that to withdraw cash, users scan the QR code on the ATM screen with their mobile phones and enter the required amount. The currency will be withdrawn from KakaoPay Money, connected to KakaoPay or a linked account.
This new service is designed to make it easier and more convenient for Kakao Pay users to access cash while traveling abroad. It is also a more secure option than carrying cash, as users can authenticate their transactions with a one-time password (OTP).
