Lotte Department Store to Introduce UnionPay QR Payments at All Stores, Expanding Convenience for Foreign Customers

[Financial News] Lotte Department Store will introduce UnionPay QR payments at all of its stores, in line with the growing use of simple payment services among foreign tourists.
According to Lotte Department Store on the 27th, customers will be able to use UnionPay QR payments at all stores starting next month. It will be the first department store in South Korea to adopt the system, which allows payments through banks and payment apps in 38 countries and regions worldwide.
As cashless travel spreads, with visitors using the simple payment methods they rely on at home even overseas without exchanging money or carrying cash, payment habits among foreign customers are also changing. Last year, simple payments accounted for about 10 percentage points more of foreign sales at Lotte Department Store than they did in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
UnionPay supports more than 200 payment apps worldwide. As a result, customers who do not use the UnionPay app can still pay with the bank or payment app they normally use in their home country.
The company will also introduce UnionPay Mobile QuickPass, a contactless payment service that lets users pay by tapping a smartphone on a terminal. Payments of less than 50,000 won can be made without a separate signature.
Lotte Department Store has already expanded payment options for foreign customers. In 2023, it introduced an NFC payment system that supports Apple Pay, Huawei Pay and Mi Pay, and last year it added Taiwan's LINE Pay.
Park Sang-woo, head of marketing at Lotte Department Store, said, "As the nationalities of foreign customers visiting Korea become more diverse, responding to their varied payment needs is an important competitive edge for becoming a global department store." He added, "Lotte Department Store will create an environment where anyone can shop conveniently beyond the boundaries of countries and payment methods, and establish itself as the most convenient and trusted shopping space for foreign customers as well."

[email protected] Lee Jeong-hwa Reporter