Lordsystem, NHN Doctortour agree to promote mobile passport authentication service

South Korea’s two companies, Lordsystem and NHN Doctortour, decided to cooperate on mobile passport identity verification services, which will help improve global travelers’ convenience.

Lordsystem, a domestic fintech start-up, holds a patent for a mobile passport solution that digitizes real passport information based on decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and provides it to passport holders as a QR code when government agencies authenticate it.

NHN Doctortour is a  travel agency that handles overseas travel, including regions such as Southeast Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the South Pacific.

After signing a mid- to long-term business agreement on Tuesday, the two companies plan to launch a joint project for global mobile passport identity authentication services and promote joint marketing efforts to disseminate services based on each company's customer base.

In particular, they will target the Japanese tourism market first.

Following the acquisition of patents on "intelligent credit card payment system and payment method" in Japan in the first half of this year, Lordsystem is undergoing the process of registering Japanese patents on "mobile passport, mobile passport data generation system and mobile passport authentication method."

Based on the mobile passport identity authentication solutions, Lordsystem plans to expand its business model to include a "Fast Check-in" service and a "Mobile Tax-Free" service, not only in Korea but also in Japan.

Mobile Tax-Free service, based on its passport identity verification technology, allows a traveler to get an immediate tax refund as it delivers passport information to the Korea Customs Service in real time through a mobile device or POS system without an expensive passport reader.

Unlike the existing way to refund taxes, this fundamentally prevents fraudulent refunds and provides convenience to tourists.

"The mobile passport identity solution can be introduced into various overseas travel destinations such as duty-free shops, casinos, hotels, and shopping centers that require identification with passports," said Lordsystem CEO Jang Yang-ho.

Write to Ji-Hee Choi at mymasaki@hankyung.com