Despite Hyundai Card already pointing to a November 30 release, that date came and went. A new report notes that further regulatory scrutiny is needed and that things could take more than a month to get ironed out.
Coming soon-ish
According to a report by Naver(opens in new tab), the review of Apple Pay has been completed. However, the Financial Supervisory Service confirmed that "there is something else to look at," with discussions ongoing.
With that in mind, it's now thought that Apple Pay could become available in South Korea as soon as the end of this month — but it also means that those hoping to be able to use Apple's payment system will have to wait until 2023.
Once authorities give Apple Pay the go-ahead, it will be exclusively available to those with a Hyundai Card, a subsidiary of the car firm Hyundai. There are similar non-Apple payments available in the country right now, of course, with Samsung Pay perhaps being the most enormous, thanks to its local roots. However, no contactless payment system is expected to prove popular in the country due to a lack of NFC-capable payment terminals.
When Apple Pay goes live, people can look forward to making contactless payments using their iPhone and Apple Watch. Prices will also be available online to those using a Mac or iPad, with all transactions listed in the Wallet app.
Apple Pay first came online in the United States in October of 2014 and had been steadily expanding to additional countries. However, eight years later, some are still waiting for their big Apple Pay moment, with South Korean users now set to wait a little bit longer.
