CU, a Korean convenience store brand, is joining hands with Shinhan Card to expand the amount of unmanned payments at convenience stores.
BGF retail, which operates CU, stated it signed an MOU on the 17th with Shinhan Card for biometric authentication and cooperation in marketing of Big Data.
CU will add shinhanFAN(app credit card) to its own self payment method app, ‘CU Buy-Self’. CU Buy-Self allows customers to pay for their products on their own using users’ smartphones. The CU app is being used in six hybrid stores across Korea which are converted into unmanned shops only at night and on weekends.
During the period when hybrid stores are fully automated, customers scan QR codes of convenience stores to get in and pay by scanning bar codes of products all with the app.
“We are going to realize future payment technologies such as biometric authentication and payment through digital combination between distribution and finance and introduce variety of new services by utilizing big data from both sides.”
Kim Yoon-kyung, marketing officer at BGF Retail
