North Korea will inspect its domestic electronic payment system from July to October to improve the safety and efficiency of operations, Daily NK has learned.
“The Pyongyang Information Technology Bureau launched a technical inspection this month to ensure the smooth operation of mobile phone and card payment systems in accordance with the Cabinet’s order on June 23. The bureau’s inspection is said to focus on the 24-hour banking service, connections with merchants using electronic payments, and the security of the financial computer network,” a source in North Korea told Daily NK on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Bureau technicians will check whether the electronic payment system can be used at all hours without any issues and whether the system is safe from hacking and other threats, the source explained.
“The aim of this inspection is to provide users with a safer and more convenient payment environment by [ensuring] the stable operation of the electronic payment system. This will be accompanied by linking computer networks between headquarters and base stations to facilitate real-time data transmission between electronic payment merchants and banks,” he said.
Inspection will help identify areas of improvement
According to the source, the bureau’s technical team plans to spend months traveling to base stations around the country to check for errors and malfunctions in electronic payment systems and make immediate repairs if necessary.
Experts from the payment card research institute under the Pyongyang Information Technology Bureau will accompany the technical team on its rounds. These experts are expected to brief the Cabinet later on the results of the inspection of the electronic payment system, including card payments and computer networks at base stations, the source said.
The report will also detail other ways to improve the electronic payment system and changes to be implemented next year, the source added.
The North Korean Cabinet has asked local people’s committees to actively cooperate with the technical team’s inspection, which it has stressed is important for the development of North Korea’s digital economy and the modernization of financial technology.
“Inside the country, the inspection is being presented as a turning point to boost confidence in the state’s electronic payment system, which will be a catalyst for the digital transformation of the national economy in the future,” the source said.
Daily NK works with a network of sources living in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. Their identities remain anonymous for security reasons.
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