[Ki Ha-young's Life Card] Movement of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases? ... The Card Knows

New Coronavirus Related
Establishment of Emergency Contact Network with Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
24-Hour Response System Launched

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young]Is there anyone these days without at least one credit card? In modern society, anyone can have a card if they want. Credit cards have brought unparalleled convenience to daily life. Now, wherever you go, you can easily see people paying with credit cards or smartphones. As demand has increased, cards with various benefits are being released almost daily. Accordingly, Asia Economy delivers diverse stories related to cards, which are inseparable from our consumer life, through the weekly 'Cards in Daily Life' corner, including introductions of new cards, industry behind-the-scenes, and guides for card beginners.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

19:00 Visited a bakery in Songpa-gu, Seoul; 19:15 Visited a chicken restaurant.

As cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) spread, the movement paths of confirmed patients are being disclosed one after another. Health authorities disclose the movement paths by identifying contacts up to one day before symptoms appear when a confirmed case occurs.

It is not easy to remember in detail, down to the minute, who you met and what you did today. Therefore, health authorities do not rely solely on the confirmed patient's memory to trace their movements but go through a verification step to supplement the memory. The information used at this time is the 'credit card usage history.'

Since the 31st of last month, card companies have established an emergency contact system with the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) regarding the novel coronavirus and have entered a 24-hour response system. When a confirmed case of the novel coronavirus emerges, card payment information is provided to the KCDC to track the patient's movement path. The provided information includes not only card usage details but also transportation card information.

Each card company appoints a person in charge to promptly send payment details upon request from the KCDC. Usually, during the day, departments handling customer information respond, while at night, call centers or approval departments handle the KCDC's information provision requests. Due to the 24-hour nature of card transactions, there is always a person on night duty who can respond immediately even if the KCDC's request comes in the middle of the night or early morning.

The early establishment of this cooperative system between card companies and the KCDC was made possible by the revision and enforcement of the 'Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act' in January 2016. After the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the revised law added a provision allowing the KCDC to request information defined by presidential decree to trace confirmed patients' movement paths, and the enforcement decree specifies credit, debit, and prepaid card usage details as such information.

In addition, card companies have introduced financial support measures for small merchants affected by the novel coronavirus. Although the details vary by company, the main points include deferral of credit card payment claims, changes in card loan repayment conditions, and marketing support. Merchants affected by the novel coronavirus are advised to consult with each card company's customer center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.