Toss decides to end Naver-linked reward marketing service
Quick Look
- Toss will end its Naver-linked reward marketing service from the third week of this month due to a conflict with Naver.
- Toss will maintain the reward marketing itself but discontinue only Naver-related channels, which is interpreted as a measure taken after Naver raised the issue of distortion of search results.
- The fintech industry is paying attention to whether this will have an impact on POS integration discussions.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Toss and Naver have been in conflict for two years over reward marketing methods. In July of last year, Naver sent an official letter to several companies, including Toss, asking them to stop reward marketing, and in February of this year, Toss was referred to the police for investigation on charges of obstruction of business and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act.
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Sang-yong Han = Toss, which has been in conflict with Naver for two years over 'reward marketing', plans to end its Naver-linked service in the third week of this month.
According to related industries on the 1st, Toss has decided on an internal policy to terminate the route leading to Naver among its reward marketing services.
It is known that the plan to apply from the third week of this month is likely.
Toss' reward marketing is a method in which users perform tasks such as search suggested by advertisers through 'attendance check missions' and accumulate points that can be used like cash as rewards.
Toss decided to terminate only Naver-related services among the routes connecting Naver, Google, Kakao, and Olive Young, while maintaining the rest.
A Toss official said, "We are not discontinuing the reward marketing service itself, but only Naver-related services. This is to prevent confusion for advertisers and service uncertainty."
This decision is interpreted as a result of Naver raising the issue that Toss' reward marketing method may distort search results.
Toss maintains that reward marketing itself is not illegal, but it is said to have judged that it is not appropriate to continue to operate Naver-linked services at advertisers' expense in a situation where Naver is raising issues with 'search distortion'.
The fintech industry is paying attention to whether this measure will also affect discussions on linking POS (point of sale information management system) between Naver and Toss.
However, some believe that it is too early to judge that the conflict between the two companies has been completely resolved or that they have entered a phase of reconciliation just by ending Naver-related services.
Separately from the reward marketing controversy, Toss Place, a POS subsidiary of Toss, is considering filing a complaint with the Fair Trade Commission, claiming that Naver excluded its 'Toss Force' from 'Place Plus' integration.
Prior to this, in July of last year, Naver sent official letters to several companies, including Toss, sequentially requesting the suspension of reward marketing.
In February of this year, Toss was requested to be investigated by the police on charges of obstruction of business and violation of the Information and Communications Network Act.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
There is a possibility that this will affect discussions on POS linkage between Toss and Naver.
Possible · Within months
Open Questions
- How much impact will the termination of Naver-linked services have on Toss’ overall reward marketing revenue?
- How will the review of Toss Place's complaint to the Fair Trade Commission proceed?
- Will this measure actually affect discussions on POS linkage between Toss and Naver?
