Seongnam, considered the Silicon Valley and a principal satellite city on the outskirts of Seoul, South Korea, is set to extend its blockchain-powered payment program with a new digital gift certificate issuance project.
The new platform will make use of an app called Chak. It will be developed by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation (KOMSCO) – now the operator of scores of regional stablecoin and blockchain-powered digital gift token projects around the country.
The firm announced its stablecoin and blockchain projects have supported it post record-breaking operating profits this year.
Seongnam is one of the essential tech cities in Gyeonggi Province – where three major stablecoins are currently going powerful.
The province’s government has addressed out about the opportunity of stepping up its stablecoin ambitions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic – and is even contemplating a universal basic income project that makes use of local stablecoins. But although the latest project uses blockchain technology, it is not a token, per se.
Instead, per Kyunghyang Shinmun, Seongnam authorities said that the digital gift certificates will be issued via the Chak app, but will be able to function without the need for QR codes – using existing credit and debit card reader technology. This, stated by the authorities, will execute it more manageable for elderly and middle-aged residents to use and understand. Residents will instead be issued with a PIN that they will need to enter into processing a payment.
The officials affirmed that 45,000 merchants in Seongnam would accept the gift certificates, and claimed that younger residents preferred digital payment schemes to paper-based alternatives.
Some 13,837 retailers based in Seongnam would also be able to receive mobile payments using the certificates.
The center has over 1 million residents and is the home of the Pangyo Tech Valley, an IT complex built to reflect America’s Silicon Valley.
The elaborate houses the headquarters of tech giants like the Kakao Group, software company AhnLabs, gaming behemoth (and crypto exchange owner) Nexon, and two major SK Telecom subsidiaries.
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