[THE INVESTOR] US e-commerce giant Amazon is reportedly considering launching its payment gateway, called “Pay with Amazon,” in Korea in a bid to tap deeper into the nation’s burgeoning online shopping market, according to news reports on July 10.

Amazon officially entered the Korean market in 2012 by setting up a local office. But it has maintained a low profile in the e-commerce market, while focusing more on expanding its cloud business. 

Industry watchers say building its own payment system hints at Amazon’s plans to expand its presence in Korea like in other overseas markets. In June, the company also announced job openings for marketers in Seoul.

News reports say Amazon will focus on supporting Korean vendors to sell their products through its huge global sales network in initially before selling products directly to local customers.

Korea is one of the biggest e-commerce markets. Online shopping sales surged 21.7 percent to 65.65 trillion won (US$57.09 billion) last year compared to a year ago. Top players include eBay Korea’s Gmarket and Auction and SK Planet’s 11st.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)