NIPPON Platform and Hana Bank to enable seamless cross-border payments

NIPPON Platform Co., Ltd. and Hana Bank have entered into a strategic partnership to expand Hana Financial Group's global alternative payment hub, Global Loyalty Network (GLN), in Japan.

GLN is a Global Alternative Payment Hub that involves a total of 58 companies from 14 countries around the world. It provides an integrated platform to connect financial institutions, retail companies and loyalty point operators around the world to a single network, allowing them to freely transfer digital assets and e-money globally.

GLN provides services to enable online and in-store mobile payments, remittances, and ATM cash withdrawals via mobile without border restrictions. In particular, GLN applies real-time exchange rates in each country for transactions, allowing convenient prepaid and debit payments around the world.

Besides its banking app, 1Q and loyalty program/e-wallet app, HanaMembers, GLN has strategically partnered with key players in the payment industry in Korea. Also, in collaboration with Taiwan and Thai financial institutions, GLN has over 85 million users.

Japan will host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games this upcoming July, and the number of foreign tourists will inevitably increase during this period. NIPPON Platform and GLN would like to give to the upcoming tourists “a seamless, inexpensive cross-border payment experience”.

We estimate that usage of e-wallet, a form of electronic stored value which is used for transactions made online or in-store through a computer or a smartphone, is increasing, and it is expected to become one of the most preferred payment methods alongside credit and debit cards.

GLN will serve as an integrated platform enabling cross-border payments and providing services to the users and companies globally. GLN Coupon Mall offers global coupon services and provides discount coupons and incentives not only for South Korean visitors to Japan, but also tourists from all over the world.

Nippon Platform integrates various GLN services with its own services and introduces the GLN system to its approximately 100,000 merchants (a total number of terminals) in Japan. It will promote alternative payments services to foreign visitors in Japan which will increase the mobile payments volume in its affiliated shops.