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Korean television viewers soon may be able to initiate credit card payments on home-shopping channels using payment terminals at their homes, The Korea Times reports. According to the newspaper, a consortium of four major credit card companies–Shinhan, Kookmin, Nonghyup and BC–is partnering with microchip designer Mediavelo to develop at-home card readers. The report notes that the four companies will add T-Comm (television commerce) functions to their newly issued chip credit cards. "Yes, we can confirm this development," a spokesperson for Shinhan Card, the country's biggest credit card company based on revenue, tells CardLine Global. "We (also) are talking to television shopping channels and operators of Internet protocol televisions (IPTV)." According to the report, the credit card companies plan to distribute the card readers for free or for a small price. Currently, television viewers can purchase products from home-shopping channels only online or by phone, while some advanced channels such as IPTV enable consumers to use their remotes to enter credit card information.
