Foreign-exchange payments fintech firm Travel Wallet said on Tuesday it has formally introduced its service in Japan and secured a base for building cross-border payment infrastructure.

The company said the Japan launch goes beyond a simple overseas service rollout and is meaningful as a first step in expanding foreign-exchange and payment technology proven in South Korea to global markets.

The company said Japan has a low passport holding rate compared with major advanced economies, leaving room for growth in the overseas travel market, and that demand for overseas travel has been increasing recently.

It also said active personal and commercial exchanges with South Korea are a factor that helps early service expansion. Travel Wallet plans to focus on easing foreign-exchange and payment inconveniences that local users face during overseas travel and spending.

Travel Wallet plans to expand its global business by pursuing a U.S. service launch within this year following Japan. It aims to use Japan and the United States as bases for Asian and North American markets, broaden touchpoints with global users and expand cross-country payment infrastructure in stages.

It plans to secure overseas revenue and transaction data, centering on Japan and the United States, and to strengthen synergies with its financial cloud SaaS business for corporate clients. Travel Wallet Chief Executive Hyung-woo Kim (김형우) said, "Starting with our entry into Japan, we aim to build a global payment infrastructure that connects remittances and payments between countries worldwide into a single flow." He added, "We will continue to advance a multinational digital wallet service for user convenience."