Orange Square, the Korea-based operator of the WOWPASS prepaid card for foreign tourists, has received a strategic investment from JYP Entertainment. The investment amount remains undisclosed.

With the increasing popularity of ‘K-POP’ and ‘K-Culture’ among foreign tourists, Orange Square plans to explore strategic synergies with JYP.

This strategic investment follows a 10 billion KRW (approximately 7.8 million USD) Series B funding round in January, just five months ago. Approximately 10% of foreign visitors to Korea use WOWPASS, many of whom are avid consumers of K-POP and K-Culture.

WOWPASS is an all-in-one prepaid card for foreign tourists that combines payment, currency exchange, and transportation card functions. Notably, over 180 self-service currency exchange kiosks are installed in major tourist areas.

As a result, about 1.2 million foreign tourists have installed the WOWPASS app, and they have made over 15 million cumulative transactions using the card during their visits to Korea.

With this strategic investment, Orange Square aims to leverage JYP’s brand assets and WOWPASS’s high-engagement K-POP traffic to create strategic synergies between the two companies. They also plan to continuously explore and create collaboration opportunities across various fields to enhance the value and growth of WOWPASS.

JYP Entertainment is a leading entertainment company in South Korea, home to numerous global K-POP artists such as TWICE, Stray Kids, and ITZY.

Lee Jang-baek, CEO of Orange Square, stated, “We are actively pursuing strategic partnerships, such as diversifying online and offline payment services for K-POP fan-based travelers and conducting joint marketing with overseas fandom communities.”