Bucheon Local Currency Usage Surpasses 100 Billion Won... Incentive Increase Proves Effective

: Bucheon Pay usage amount from January to July 2020 [Provided by Bucheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] The local currency of Bucheon City, Gyeonggi Province, 'Bucheon Pay,' has surpassed 100 billion won in usage, revitalizing the local commercial district.

According to the city on the 22nd, the usage amount of Bucheon Pay was 4.3 billion won in January, 8.2 billion won in February, 13.9 billion won in March, 21 billion won in April, 55.9 billion won in May, 85.9 billion won in June, and as of the 20th of this month, it totaled 101.4 billion won.

This is analyzed to be due to the increase in incentives for Bucheon Pay and the raising of the sales limit in response to the severe economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The city expects that the use of Bucheon Pay will prevent the outflow of local funds outside the region, strengthen the competitiveness of small business owners, and greatly contribute to revitalizing the local economy.

Also, considering the economic difficulties caused by COVID-19, the city is reviewing a plan to maintain the incentive increase, originally planned until the end of July, through the end of the year.

Meanwhile, an analysis of Bucheon Pay purchase details showed that the most used places were general restaurants, convenience stores and supermarkets, beverages and food (butcher shops, bakeries, etc.), clothing and accessories/hairdressing and beauty salons, academies and bookstores, and hospitals and pharmacies, in that order.

The age group that uses Bucheon Pay the most is people in their 40s, while those in their 30s used it the least. Also, by day of the week, it was used the most on Saturdays, and by time of day, it was analyzed to be between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Jang Deokcheon, mayor of Bucheon City, said, "Bucheon Pay will reflect citizens' opinions collected through satisfaction surveys in its policies," adding, "We hope that Bucheon City's proactive preemptive response to overcome the COVID-19 crisis will lead to a virtuous cycle structure that drives regional economic growth and increases tax revenue."

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