Kakao Pay's blockchain-based authentication boasts 1 mln users

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- Kakao Pay Corp., a major South Korean mobile payment service provider, said Thursday that more than 1 million people have joined its blockchain-based mobile authentication service, a sign of the growing popularity of a secure system that uses electronic signature.

The milestone came just eight months after the tech company rolled out Kakao Pay Authentication, a mobile messenger-based digital authentication service.

The service eases the authentication process between the institution and customers by digitally documenting customers' signatures, the company said.

Blockchain has gained ground in recent years as its distributed ledger system is believed to be safe against forgeries and alterations.

Users of KakaoTalk, South Korea's top mobile messenger, can use the authentication service on the mobile messenger without having to download an application.

A total of 20 institutions and companies, including insurer AIA Life Korea and the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, use the service, Kakao Pay said, adding that it plans to expand the service.

khj@yna.co.kr
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