Why Naver Pay matters for merchants to reach South Korean shoppers

South Korea is one of the most digitally mature commerce markets in the world. Mobile-first behaviour shapes how people browse, compare, and complete purchases, both online and offline. For merchants selling into South Korea, payment choice plays a visible role in whether a transaction completes or quietly drops away.

Naver Pay sits at the centre of this environment. For many shoppers, it is the default way to make a payment across everyday digital touchpoints. Understanding how Naver Pay works, who uses it, and when it matters commercially helps you decide whether you should use Naver Pay as part of your payment strategy in South Korea.

What is Naver Pay?

Naver Pay is a digital wallet operated by NAVER, South Korea’s largest internet platform. It allows users to store payment credentials, link bank accounts or cards, and complete payments with minimal friction.

At its core, Naver Pay is designed around mobile use. Shoppers can make a payment through apps or the web, without repeatedly entering card details. Payment using Naver Pay works across online checkout, in-app purchases, and supported offline locations.

Several characteristics define Naver Pay:

• Tight integration with the wider NAVER ecosystem, including search, shopping, content, and services
• A mobile-first checkout flow designed for speed and repeat use
• Support for both online and offline payments
• Built-in rewards, points, and loyalty features

Adoption is broad. In a 2024 survey, Naver Pay was the most widely used mobile payment service in South Korea, with a 24% share, ahead of other domestic wallets. Naver Pay also reported 30.68 million users, close to 60% of the country’s population. These Naver Pay users span age groups and income levels, making the wallet relevant across many consumer categories.

For shoppers, using Naver Pay often starts with creating a Naver account. Once logged in, they can link payment methods and approve future payments quickly. From that point on, making a payment becomes a familiar, low-effort action tied to a service they already trust.

Naver Pay vs Kakao Pay vs Toss

For merchants focused on e-commerce and marketplace sales, Naver Pay tends to align most closely with purchase intent. Shoppers often encounter products through NAVER search or shopping tools, then move directly to a Naver Pay payment without switching context.

Why Korean shoppers prefer Naver Pay

Preference for Naver Pay is shaped by familiarity and daily use rather than novelty.

One reason is seamless checkout within NAVER’s commerce surfaces. When shoppers discover products through NAVER search, price comparison, or shopping pages, Naver Pay appears as a natural continuation of the journey.

Rewards and points also influence behaviour. Naver Pay users can earn and redeem points across NAVER services, creating an incentive to keep using the same wallet rather than switching to cards or other payment methods.

Consistency across devices is also a crucial factor. Whether shoppers are using a mobile app or a desktop browser, Naver Pay provides a recognisable flow. That consistency reduces hesitation at checkout.

Trust plays a role. NAVER is a long-established platform in South Korea, and many users already rely on it for identity, content, and services. Using Naver Pay feels like an extension of an existing relationship rather than a new payment decision.

Benefits of Naver Pay for merchants

• Access to a large domestic user base: Naver Pay users represent a significant share of the South Korean population. By offering Naver Pay, you place your checkout in front of shoppers who already use the wallet as part of their everyday online activity, particularly within NAVER-driven shopping journeys.
• Higher checkout completion for local shoppers: Familiar payment options reduce hesitation at the final step of purchase. When Korean shoppers see Naver Pay, they recognise the flow and know what to expect, which increases the likelihood that they complete the transaction rather than pause or exit.
• Stronger performance on mobile: Mobile devices dominate commerce activity in Korea. Naver Pay is designed for quick approval and repeat use on mobile, supporting fast payment using saved credentials instead of repeated card entry.
• Support for repeat purchases and loyalty behaviour: Once shoppers approve a Naver Pay payment, future purchases require fewer steps. Combined with points and rewards linked to the Naver account, this encourages repeat buying rather than one-off transactions.
• A more localised payment experience: Card-only checkout can feel foreign to Korean users who rely on domestic wallets. Offering Naver Pay signals that your business understands the local market and is prepared to accept payments in ways shoppers already trust.
• Coverage across online and supported offline channels: Naver Pay works beyond standard online checkout. For merchants with offline, pop-up, or hybrid models, this broader acceptance can support a more consistent payment experience across touchpoints.

Accepting Naver Pay as a merchant

1. Confirm whether Naver Pay fits your South Korea strategy. Start by reviewing your traffic, customer location, and device usage. If you already see demand from South Korea, or you plan to target Korean shoppers, Naver Pay is often expected at checkout rather than treated as an optional extra.
2. Determine your merchant status. The setup path differs for domestic and foreign merchants. Domestic merchants typically work through local acquiring arrangements. Foreign merchants follow a cross-border onboarding route that accounts for overseas operations and settlement needs.
3. Prepare business and compliance information. You will need to complete business verification and KYC checks. This usually includes company registration details, ownership information, and clear documentation showing where your business operates. These checks apply even if you do not have a local Korean entity.
4. Decide how you want to integrate. Merchants can choose from different technical approaches, including API-based integration, hosted checkout pages, or SDKs. The right option depends on how much control you want over the payment flow and how much internal development capacity you have.
5. Settle payments and handle currency conversion. Naver Pay transactions are typically settled in KRW. As a foreign merchant, you will usually rely on a payment partner to convert funds and settle them into your preferred currency, rather than managing FX processes directly.
6. Test the checkout experience and go live. Before going live, test payment using Naver Pay across devices and browsers. This helps confirm that the approval flow, redirects, and confirmation steps work as expected for Korean shoppers.

Once testing is complete, you can begin to accept payments through Naver Pay. Ongoing monitoring ensures that payment success rates and customer behaviour match expectations as volume grows.

Global payment platforms like Antom support Naver Pay as part of a wider local payment offering. In these cases, the platform can handle connectivity, compliance steps, and settlement logistics, allowing you to focus on the checkout experience rather than managing local infrastructure directly.

When merchants should offer Naver Pay

Cross-border e-commerce selling into Korea

If your traffic includes South Korea but conversion lags at checkout, payment mismatch is often part of the picture. In these cases, adding Naver Pay can bring your payment experience closer to what local shoppers expect.

Mobile-heavy categories and repeat purchase

Categories with frequent, repeat purchases benefit from saved-wallet convenience. Once shoppers approve payment using Naver Pay, future transactions require fewer steps, which supports retention and repeat buying.

Marketplace or platform-led acquisition

If your acquisition strategy relies on Korea-native ecosystems, including search and commerce hubs, Naver Pay becomes more relevant. It aligns discovery and payment within the same behavioural loop.

Conclusion

For global businesses, the question is not whether Naver Pay is popular, but whether your checkout experience matches local expectations. In many cases, supporting Naver Pay helps close that gap.

As more merchants look to accept payments in Korea without building local infrastructure from scratch, payment partners such as Antom provide one route to support Naver Pay alongside other local methods, while keeping operational complexity manageable.