Online checkout in Korea is already one tap away. The last friction point is the store counter. A service benchmarking column on Mobiinside compared how Toss and KakaoPay approach in-store mobile payments, and the contrast offers lessons for marketers and retailers alike.
Toss removed the need to pull anything out; the app is used only at registration. KakaoPay reduced choices: one screen handles the payment method and loyalty points. Toss cut steps; KakaoPay cut decisions.
Toss installed its own terminals through its subsidiary Toss Place, reaching more than 370,000 FacePay merchants by early June 2026. KakaoPay chose alliances with POS and VAN companies, reaching 650,000 merchants and 3 million payment points. That scale came fast, but the checkout experience runs on someone else's hardware.
Toss sells the experience: 60% of first-time users reportedly keep using FacePay. KakaoPay sells the benefits: points, "Good Deal" discounts and membership rewards in one place. In short, "faster" versus "better value."
KakaoPay already had distribution: it is accepted at over 95% of Korea's top 100 brand merchants, so building terminals would have meant competing with long-time POS and VAN partners. Toss was strong in-app but had no presence at the counter, so it built one, and that gave it a face-payment experience no borrowed terminal could offer.
Neither company charges consumers fees. The business is on the merchant side. Toss terminals automate coupons and return-visit reminders; KakaoPay offers payment-data-based targeted marketing and a "store owner success kit" for local promotion. Owning the payment moment tells you who the customer is and when they come back.
For retailers choosing payment partners, the comparison should include the customer data and retention tools that come with each option, not just transaction fees. KakaoPay is already talking about agentic payments, where an AI handles the purchase inside a chat.
For more on AI agents in commerce, see Naver wires real-time delivery into its AI shopping agent and Meta is building an agentic commerce protocol for Muse.
Only at stores with Toss terminals. As of early June 2026, more than 370,000 merchants supported it.
It was already accepted at over 95% of Korea's top 100 brand merchants, so partnering with POS and VAN companies was more practical than competing with them.
Beyond fees, compare the merchant marketing tools that come with it, such as payment-data targeting, coupons and return-visit reminders.
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