Kakao Pay is now one of the first Alipay+ partners to roll out "tap-to-pay" functionality abroad, expanding its cross-border payment offering beyond QR and barcode systems.

The company said users with NFC-enabled Android phones can tap at over 150 million Mastercard merchant locations worldwide, covering markets such as Japan, Southeast Asia, the U.S., Europe and Oceania. A phased rollout for iOS users will follow.

The move is expected to strengthen Kakao Pay's positioning as a travel-friendly payment platform, reducing the need for physical payment cards while ensuring transaction security through encryption and authentication protocols.

The service is already live on the Kakao Pay app and will soon extend to KakaoTalk.

"Just as we do in South Korea, we aim to provide the most convenient and rewarding payment experience overseas," said Seung Jun Oh, head of payment group at Kakao Pay. "Kakao Pay is becoming an essential travel and payment platform that accompanies users at every moment of their overseas trips."

Sandeep Malhotra, executive vice president of core payments, Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said the partnership would "make overseas payments simpler and more secure for Korean users when they travel."