Card Companies' H1 Trend is 'Untact'... Continuous Launch of New Products

KB Kookmin Card Launches Mobile-Only 'KB MyFit Card'
Shinhan and Hana Cards Also Introduce Mobile Cards
Woori Card Releases Untact-Specialized Card

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] One of the major trends among credit card companies in the first half of this year is untact (contactless). With the surge in untact consumption due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), card companies are actively developing cards targeting this trend. They are increasing online benefits such as easy payments and are releasing mobile-only credit cards without physical cards one after another.

According to the card industry on the 2nd, KB Kookmin Card launched the mobile-only product "KB My Fit Card," which is registered and used on smartphones without issuing a physical card, on the same day. It is characterized by convenience services such as card registration on Samsung Pay and the mobile payment service "Easy Touch," allowing easy use even at offline merchants.

This kind of mobile-only card was first introduced last month by Hana Card. Hana Card launched the mobile-only "Everyone's Shopping," which offers basic benefits of 5-10% accumulation in online and offline shopping sectors. Hana Card plans to continue releasing mobile-only cards starting with Everyone's Shopping. Shinhan Card also released the mobile-exclusive card "Shinhan Card YaY" on the 26th. It features benefits optimized for the home economy (home + economy) and untact consumption market. In particular, it introduced the industry's first "Mariage" service, which provides benefits when using real-time online video (OTT) services and food delivery services together.

Hyundai Card released the upgraded "Hyundai Card Zero Edition 2," an enhanced version of the steady seller "Hyundai Card Zero," first launched in 2011. Through this renewal, Hyundai Card introduced both plastic cards and mobile cards. It offers a 1.5% discount (discount type) or 2.5% M-point accumulation (point type) on payment amounts in specialized areas reflecting untact consumption culture, such as seven major online easy payment services, ten major online shopping malls, and social commerce.

Woori Card even included "Untact" in the card name and released new cards. The "Card's Principle Untact" and "Card's Principle Untact Platinum," launched on the 1st, feature more than 25 regular payment discounts and easy payment discount benefits simultaneously. Both products include untact special services that discount the monthly fee of 2,900 KRW for Coupang Rocket Wow membership. Additionally, when using Naver Pay, Payco, or Kakao Pay easy payment services for over 50,000 KRW in online sectors, a 1,000 KRW discount per transaction is applied.

An industry official said, "Card companies are rushing to release related products in line with untact consumption," adding, "Along with the subscription economy, untact is becoming a new trend."

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