Kakao Pay launches ATM service in Japan, Vietnam, Laos

South Korea’s Kakao Pay Corp. on Wednesday said it started an overseas withdrawal service at automatic teller machines (ATM) in partnership with Global Loyalty Network (GLN), an overseas payment platform under Hana Bank, to ease getting cash overseas.

Available in Japan, Vietnam and Laos, the service allows users to withdraw the national currency of each of the three countries with just a mobile phone that has the KakaoTalk or Kakao Pay app installed.

Withdrawal is possible at the ATMs of Seven Bank in Japan, Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, aka BIDV, and BCEL Bank in Laos.

The minimum withdrawal is 1,000 yen ($6.92) in Japan, 100,000 dong ($4.21) in Vietnam and 50,000 kip ($2.62) in Laos. The withdrawal limit is 1 million won ($767) at a time and up to 5 million won per month.

Kakao Pay said that though ATM withdrawal devices and foreign brands incur fees, it charges no overseas use fees to offer a cheaper rate than a conventional card withdrawal.

A Kakao Pay user who lacks a Hana account can use the GLN service after performing self-identification through contactless real-name authentication. Users aged 14 or older with a Hana account can use it right away without going through separate authentication.

"Authentication and OTP (one-time password) authorization functions installed for overseas ATM withdrawals boost security and create a system for safe use of services even while abroad," a Kakao Pay source said. "By scanning the QR code on the ATM screen with a mobile phone and inputting the required amount, a user can conveniently withdraw cash from KakaoPay Money connected to KakaoPay or a linked account."

Write to Mi-Hyun Jo at mwise@hankyung.com