[Digital Today reporter Ji-young Lee (이지영)] MG Community Credit Cooperatives has introduced a local tax virtual account payment service, the first in the mutual finance sector.

MG Community Credit Cooperatives said on June 24 it began the "integrated virtual account" local tax revenue collection service on June 22.

The service was built by linking the local tax revenue collection system operated by the Korea Local Information Research and Development Institute under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety with MG Community Credit Cooperatives' computer network.

The service will first apply to regular and occasional local tax payments. MG Community Credit Cooperatives plans to expand the service in phases so it can also include non-tax revenue in the future.

Local governments currently able to use the service are 49 cities, counties and districts in Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, North Chungcheong, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang and Gangwon. The list will be expanded.

Seoul is excluded from the service because it does not use the Korea Local Information Research and Development Institute's local tax revenue collection system.

An MG Community Credit Cooperatives official said the service would improve convenience for customers paying taxes and that it would continue to develop financial services to strengthen digital finance competitiveness.