SK Telecom, Korea’s biggest mobile carrier, said Wednesday that it has launched an application where users can receive their bills and pay them through smartphones.

The application named “Smartphone Billing & Payment Platform” can be downloaded by any smartphone users at SK Telecom’s T Store, Google’s Android or Apple’s App Store.

With the app, users can not only pay their telephone bills, but also property and other taxes to regional government offices.

The development of the app was part of efforts to help its customers deal less with paperwork and not have to visit retail banks every time to settle their taxes, while at the same time support regional government offices to save money and time on paper and mailing.

The Korean telecom company said it has formed a strategic alliance with KRSYS, a Korean tax payment system developer, to launch the tax billing platform service in the cities of Yong-in and Ansan in Gyeonngi Province.

They plan to boost the service in 50 regional cities by the end of this year, where smartphone users can pay not only their taxes but also other types of bills such as gas and electricity.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)