Danal Fintech, a subsidiary of Danal, one of the largest payment companies in South Korea, today announced that they are joining the ICON blockchain ecosystem, the largest decentralized network in Korea by market capitalization. Danal Fintech will integrate ICON’s cryptocurrency ICX into Paycoin, its global payments and remittance app. This will allow Paycoin’s 750,000+ users to pay in ICX at any of Danal’s 60,000 merchant partners, including 7-Eleven, KFC, and Domino’s Pizza.
“With PayPal recently announcing its plans to support cryptocurrencies, we’re starting to see major acceleration in crypto adoption by payment apps and fintech companies in Asia,” said Min Kim, ICON project Founder. “Now with Paycoin, it’s easier than ever for people to buy and spend their ICX at thousands of Danal’s merchant partners.”
“Paycoin is one of the first virtual asset apps being used commercially in Korea and ICON is one of the largest blockchain projects in Korea. Through this partnership between the two projects, we expect to bring virtual assets one step closer to our daily life,” said Ted Hwang, CEO of Danal Fintech. “We will continue to expand business scope through various partnerships in the future.”
Danal Fintech will also become an ICON Public Representative, or P-Rep, the title given to consensus and governance block validators on the ICON Network. P-Reps like Danal Fintech play key roles in the ICON Network such as block creation and verification, decision making on network policy, and expansion of the overall ICON ecosystem. P-Reps are elected by delegation of stake by the ICON community, and help keep the network stable with technical infrastructure support.
Danal Fintech is part of Danal Co. Ltd, one of South Korea’s largest payment companies. Danal provides integrated payment solutions to its partners, from credit and debit cards to mobile billings and more. With more than 20 years in business, Danal accounts for half of the market share in mobile billings, equivalent to $5.5 billion USD annually. Danal Fintech focuses on blockchain-based payment solutions, and launched Paycoin in 2019 as one of the first apps for using virtual currencies in retail payments.
Danal’s Paycoin app reduces intermediaries in existing payment processes, lowers transaction fees, and speeds up settlement cycles; all in a safe and convenient payment environment. The app makes it easy for ICX holders to spend their cryptocurrency at both online and offline retailers all over South Korea.
Shortly after joining as a P-Rep, Danal Fintech will start the integration of ICX into the Paycoin payment application. At its completion, ICON users will be able to deposit and spend their ICX with the Paycoin app.
