NTT Docomo and KT Corporation to Cooperate on Cross-border e-Payment Service

NTT Docomo at CEATEC Japan 2012

As a result of cooperation between Japan’s NTT Docomo (NYSE:DCM) and Korea’s KT Corporation (NYSE:KT), Docomo customers with compatible smartphones from Japan will soon be able to use a pre-paid payment service called ‘Cashbee’ in South Korea.

Cashbee was created by Korea’s eB Card back in 2010 and has about 5 million users to date. The service is available at over 52,000 locations in the country, including LOTTE stores, and on subways and buses. The latter should prove useful for any Japanese tourists looking to make payments during public transit.

The two companies will work on preparing this and other cross-border NFC services between Korea and Japan. They also note that they plan to share the results of these intiatives with global associations and standarization bodies in order to help promote standardized NFC services worldwide. Docomo’s senior vice president Toshiki Nakayama further explained:

Going forward, we will partner with international operators and service providers to drive the development of mobile- payment businesses for increasingly enhanced mobile experiences on a global scale.

It’s promising to see such cooperation across borders here in Asia, in an effort to benefit consumers who frequently move about.

Back in 2011, we saw Docomo and KT Corporation come to an agreement to share content for Android smartphones, including an assortment of popular gaming titles.