Toss, Kakao Pay and Naver Pay will be able to use the government’s resident registration card authenticity verification network. Use by electronic financial businesses had been limited due to a lack of related legal grounds, but the agreement is expected to further strengthen identity checks in non-face-to-face financial transactions.

The three fintech firms said on July 9 they signed an MOU with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute to expand access to resident registration card authenticity verification for electronic financial businesses.

The agreement was 마련됐다 to allow electronic financial businesses to use the resident registration card authenticity verification network and to open it in phases. The three firms were included among eligible institutions that can use the service within this year.

The resident registration card authenticity verification network is a government identity verification system that checks whether an ID is authentic by comparing resident registration card information submitted by a user with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s issuance information. It can verify photo information registered on the card as well as the resident registration number, which can improve accuracy in identifying forged or altered IDs.

Financial companies and telecommunications firms have used the resident registration card authenticity verification network based on the Real-Name Financial Transactions Act and the Telecommunications Business Act. Electronic financial businesses, by contrast, have faced limits because the Electronic Financial Transactions Act lacks specific legal grounds for such services.

The three companies plan to apply the service this year after API integration and development procedures. The electronic financial sector expects broader use of the network to improve the safety of non-face-to-face financial transactions.

Toss CEO Seung-gun Lee (이승건) said, "We can raise the stability and trust of the non-face-to-face financial environment by another level." He added, "Toss will continue to work closely with the government to build an environment where customers can use financial services with greater peace of mind."

Kakao Pay CEO Won-geun Shin (신원근) said, "This is a meaningful first step in that the resident registration card authenticity verification network, which had been allowed only for traditional financial institutions, will also be opened to electronic financial businesses like us, and it means the fintech industry has been officially recognised as part of the national financial infrastructure."