South Korea’s top portal operator Naver Corp. said Friday its free messenger service Line would launch a number of new businesses this year, including mobile payment and taxicab services, which are meant to link users’ online and offline lives.

Seoul-based Naver said its Tokyo-based affiliate, Line Corp., will offer a mobile payment service within this year, available on both the Android and iOS operating systems. Japanese users will be able to send cash via bank accounts under the platform.

Line had 560 million global users as of Oct. 9, with 54 million of them in Japan. Thailand, Taiwan and Spain accounted for 33 million, 17 million, and 18 million users, respectively. The app has an estimated 10 million users in South Korea, where its main rival, Kakao Talk, dominates the market with 35 million.

Naver said Line will also launch a delivery service, “Line Wow,” starting in Japan this year. (Yonhap)