The Service Platform

What The Service Platform does

The Service Platform Co., Ltd. is a Seoul-based tourism technology company founded in July 2020 that operates the Funch Reward platform — an online-to-offline (O2O) shopping and tax refund service for international tourists visiting Korea and, increasingly, Japan. Through funchreward.com, tourists can purchase genuine Korean products before or during travel and schedule pickup at the company’s unmanned Funch Reward Lounges in Seoul, where a passport-verification-enabled Refund Robot processes their VAT refund in real time to a bank account, Alipay account, or cash, replacing the traditional sequence of in-store refund slips, customs confirmation, and airport refund-counter visits.

The underlying technology is a tax-refund processing stack that combines an e-commerce marketplace, identity verification, scheduling/fulfillment coordination, and automated financial disbursement. Defensible technical components include a registered Korean patent covering online-purchased tax refund methodology (Patent 10-2296924, August 2021), an unmanned Refund Robot system, a Japan patent registration (February 2025), two Funchreward trademark registrations (Classes 35 and 36, 2022), and three PCT international patent applications. The company also generates revenue from a B2B platform-licensing motion targeting Japanese listed retailers and duty-free operators (notably IPC, Bic Camera, and iEntEmerge/Taxfree Online Japan).

The business model is multi-stream: transaction fees on tax refunds processed via Funch Reward, product-sale revenue through the funchreward.com marketplace, and platform-licensing/royalty income from Japanese and Korean retail and duty-free partners. GTM is primarily direct-to-consumer (tourists), with a secondary B2B channel layer built around distribution and technology partnerships in Japan and Korea. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and operates on quote-based arrangements for enterprise partners. The company is led by CEO Kim Yong Woon, is venture-backed (Korea Investment Accelerator in 2022; Blissvine Ventures/Bliss-Eco and the TIPS program in 2025), and is currently operating with two Seoul-based Funch Reward Lounges.

Name

The Service Platform

Legal name

The Service Platform Co., Ltd.

Website

https://theservice.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Service Platform is a Seoul-based tourism tech startup operating the Funch Reward platform, which combines online shopping, unmanned pickup lounges, and a passport-verified Refund Robot to deliver real-time VAT refunds and Korean product access for international tourists, with active geographic and partnership expansion into Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourist Tax Refund Services

NAICS

Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Cross-Border Payments & FX (multi-currency wallets, DCC, remittance) (THALAHAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Alternative Payments & Digital Wallet Acceptance (A2A, RTP, wallets) (THALAHAH)

Keywords

• Tax refund platform
• Tourist shopping service
• VAT refund processing
• Duty-free shopping
• Travel commerce platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Seoul

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Tax Refund Processing Services: The company earns transaction fees by facilitating VAT refunds for tourists on purchased products. Tourists receive real-time refunds into their payment account or digital account when picking up products at unmanned lounges.
2. E-commerce Product Sales: The company operates Funchreward.com as an online marketplace where tourists purchase Korean products. Revenue is generated through product sales with integrated tax refund processing.
3. B2B Platform Licensing: The company provides its tax refund technology platform to duty-free operators and retailers, including partnerships with Japanese listed companies for the local duty-free market.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Service Platform operates the Funch Reward O2O platform that lets international tourists visiting Korea and Japan shop for genuine Korean products online via funchreward.com, collect purchases at unmanned Funch Reward Lounges verified via passport, and receive real-time VAT refunds through an automated Refund Robot—eliminating traditional refund slips, customs visits, and airport counter queues. The company also licenses this patented tax-refund technology to duty-free operators and retailers.

Product overview

The Service Platform operates a dual-channel platform for global tourist shopping and tax refunds in Korea. The core offering is Funch Reward (funchreward.com), an online shopping portal where international tourists purchase genuine Korean products before or during their trip. Physical fulfillment occurs through Funch Reward Lounge service locations, where customers verify identity with passport, collect purchases, and receive instant VAT refunds via the unmanned Refund Robot — eliminating the need for traditional paper-based refund slips and airport counter visits. The platform combines e-commerce, logistics coordination, identity verification, and automated financial disbursement into a unified tourist shopping experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Funch Reward: Digital platform enabling real-time VAT tax refunds for online-purchased products, with physical pickup locations and refund robot services for global tourists shopping in Korea

Products and services

• Funch Reward O2O shopping and real-time VAT tax refund platform for international tourists visiting Korea and Japan; lets tourists purchase genuine Korean products online via funchreward.com and collect refunds instantly at unmanned Funch Reward Lounges verified by passport.
• Funch Reward Tax Refund Platform for Retailers (B2B) B2B platform licensing of The Service Platform's patented automated tax-refund and O2O shopping technology to Japanese duty-free operators and retailers such as IPC, Bic Camera, and iEntEmerge (Taxfree Online Japan) for integration into their local duty-free and tax-free operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Elimination of refund slip requirement and refund counter visits during travel

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• IPCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Public announcement of MOU signing for Japan taxfree business between TSP and IPC in November 2025. LOI signed in September 2025. IPC is a Japanese listed company targeting the local duty-free market.
• Korea Tourism OrganizationmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Business Agreement for 2025 Global Tourism Challenge signed with Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization in May 2025. Member of VISITKOREA Alliance since April 2024.
• Bic Camera JapanmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025NDA signed for business collaboration with Bic Camera Japan in February 2025, targeting the Japanese tax-free shopping market.
• iEntEmerge inc. (Taxfree Online Japan)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2025NDA signed for business with iEntEmerge inc., a Japanese company operating Taxfree Online Japan platform, in February 2025.
• AlipaymajorTechnology or Integration · 1 October 2021Alipay domestic currency refund service partnership agreement signed in October 2021, enabling Chinese tourists to receive tax refunds in Alipay accounts.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CurrencyFair: Cross-border payments and FX platform. Comparable in multi-currency payout to travelers and digital wallet disbursements (relevant to refund mechanisms).
• Travelex: Global foreign exchange and travel-payments specialist serving international travelers. Comparable in serving tourist FX and payout needs, though broader than pure tax refunds.

Direct peers

• Global Blue: World's largest operator of tourist tax-refund shopping services. Directly comparable in product (VAT refund for tourists), geography (operates heavily in Korea and Japan), and merchant-acquiring business model.
• Planet Payment (Planet): Provides payment processing, multi-currency, and tax-refund solutions to merchants globally. Closely aligned in cross-border tourist transactions and digital wallet/digital refund services.
• Tax Free Worldwide (Planet): Operates electronic tax-refund and currency-conversion services for shoppers and merchants. Directly comparable in tourist-facing VAT refund and cross-border payments.
• Smart Tax Free: Digital tax-refund provider in Europe focused on simplifying tourist VAT refunds via app-driven flows. Closely aligned in digital-first refund experience for international travelers.

Emerging players

• Klook: Asia-focused travel e-commerce platform serving inbound tourists in Korea, Japan, and across APAC. Comparable in O2O (online-to-offline) travel shopping and tourist discovery.

Regional players

• i'mPay / Tada Pay (tourist mobile payment in Korea): Korean tourist-oriented mobile payment / FX services. Operates in the same Korean tourist corridors but primarily through card and mobile rails rather than tax-refund flows.
• Enjoy Shop (Lotte Duty Free / Shilla): Major Korean duty-free operators running their own tourist shopping channels. Comparable in tourist-oriented Korean product sales and Korean duty-free footprint.

Others

• Alipay (Ant Group) - Travel & Tourism: Strategic partner of TSP. Alipay's inbound-tourist payment and refund-on-Alipay capability is an adjacent enabling layer in the same tourist flow.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Service Platform