Seeking to introduce a series of advanced mobile payment services targeting the offline market this year, tech companies are up for heated competition over the smartphone-based payment market here.

Dominant Korean internet portal Naver said last month that it would soon launch a mobile payment system available at local stores and restaurants. Combined with its incumbent Naver Pay mobile payment platform, offline service “Table Order” is expected to launch in the third quarter of this year.

Messenger app service Kakao is seeking to incorporate Kakao Pay into an automated chatting service, where consumers can order food and make payments. The advanced chatbot service is expected to become available for commercial service by the end of this year.

“In order to expand the service into every corner of daily life, we are going to work with various partners to diversify user experience,” Kim Yoo-mi, who leads the chatbot business at Kakao, said at a press conference in Seoul last month.