LG Pay launched in its home market of South Korea, 14 months after the company was expected to unveil the system at Mobile World Congress 2016 and almost two years after Samsung launched its service.

The mobile wallet will only be available for LG-branded devices and uses either a passcode or fingerprint sensor to authenticate transactions.

It is compatible with NFC for retail payments and can be connected to bank cards from the country’s major suppliers. LG also built-in the ability to add store loyalty cards from its retail partners.

LG Pay is launching into a market where fellow Korean manufacturer Samsung holds a 20 month headstart. Chinese payment giant Alipay’s parent is also eyeing expansion into the country and invested $200 million to develop a mobile payment service in partnership with South Korean messaging provider Kakao.

Apple and Google are also both rumoured to be preparing an entry into Korea’s mobile wallet market.

Delays
LG was widely expected to announce the system in February 2016, before reports emerged saying it had been pushed back to Q2 2016 to enable the company to focus on new device launches instead.

In May 2016, tech websites in Korea announced the launch had been moved to September 2016, while in early 2017 Reuters said the company had pinned down June 2017 for the delayed launch.