Park said executives laughed at him when he first approached credit card companies -- with a TV remote strapped to his cell phone to demonstrate how it would work.
Credit card companies were loath to cooperate so closely with telecoms because that would require sharing valuable customer information and transaction commissions. The card companies figured they already had the entire country in their grip, with an average of four cards issued for every working person.
But after extended negotiations, they finally agreed, acknowledging the inevitable march of technology.
The mobile phone companies, on the other hand, were hungry for new services. Their markets were saturated. All three major providers are now on board.
SK Telecom, the country's largest mobile phone operator, says it has sold 280,000 phone handsets capable of carrying the payment chips -- although only about 30,000 customers have inserted them. KTF says it has sold 400,000 payment-capable phones but has only 20,000 subscribers.
One encumbrance is the need for each carrier to have card readers at retail outlets. SKT says it has already installed 300,000 card readers at stores and outlets nationwide and expects 400,000 by year's end to cover 75 percent of all payment points in the country. KTF expects to install 300,000 card readers by next year.
Industry officials acknowledge that they need to market the service better _ and were hampered by bad timing: The launch came as the industry was hit with a US$13 billion wave of defaults that forced companies to stop issuing new cards.
Mobile phone companies are hopeful that once the crisis is over, customers will flock to the service. A marketing blitz is planned to help spur them.
Lee Jong-hyun, an assistant manager at SK Telecom's mobile-finance division, envisions cell phones that also contain club memberships, a driver's license, ID card, airline frequent flier card -- essentially everything people carry in their wallets.
"In the future you only will have to carry one handset," Lee said. "It will be your window to the world."
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