Gyeonggi-do Supports Local Currency Payment Fees for Merchants

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will support the commission fees of affiliated stores, which amount to about 0.7% of the payment amount, to promote the use of local currency.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 18th that starting this month, it will carry out the "Local Currency Usage Commission Support Project" for the first time this year to reduce the commission burden on small business owners using local currency and to revitalize the neighborhood economy by increasing the usage rate of local currency among consumers through expanded discount rates.

The support targets small business stores in traditional markets and neighborhood commercial districts within the province that apply an additional discount rate of 5-10% when using local currency. The province expects the number of beneficiary stores to reach up to about 43,000.

The support is provided by covering approximately 0.7% of the payment amount generated when the store accepts card-type local currency payments.

The province allocated a total budget of 1.05 billion KRW in the first supplementary budget for this purpose.

The province especially expects this project to greatly help prevent discriminatory transactions involving local currency, such as some businesses demanding extra charges under the name of commission fees when local currency is used for payment.

Jo Jang-seok, head of the Small Business Division of the province, said, "The neighborhood commercial districts, which are the capillaries of the economy, must thrive for the regional economy to revive. Through the activation of Gyeonggi local currency, we will strive to increase sales for small business owners, establish a sound transaction culture, and breathe new life into the neighborhood economy."

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