Naver and Naver Pay (Npay) are expanding support for small merchants’ stores to help them go digital, widening the scope from payment infrastructure to management data and finance, marketing and education. They will distribute the offline integrated terminal Npay Connect to small merchants’ stores and link sales and payment data with financial services.

Naver and Naver Pay said on Monday they signed a business agreement with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise and the Korea Bakery Association for small merchants’ digital transformation and win-win cooperation.

Under the agreement, the 4 parties will support the introduction and use of Npay Connect for member companies of the Korea Bakery Association and local small merchants affiliated with the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise.

They are also pushing support for store management using data. They plan to provide information needed to run a business by using sales and payment data and local commercial district data that small merchants can check on Naver SmartPlace and Naver Pay, and to link financial services and preferential benefits for businesses using Npay Connect.

They will also support online promotion and practical training. The parties will select support recipients to help them create and use online content such as Naver Clips, and provide training on how to use Npay Connect and Naver SmartPlace by using the Korea Bakery Association’s courses and the Korea Federation of Micro Enterprise’s local network.

Naver Pay and the Korea Bakery Association will also cooperate at offline events such as the Seoul Bakery Festival and the International Bakery Fair. They plan to use Npay Connect at event venues and support association members’ promotion and expansion of sales channels.

Naver Pay CEO Sang-jin Park (박상진) said, "It is meaningful in that we are building a cooperative system to provide small merchants with the support they need, from digital infrastructure and marketing to finance and education programs."