'Onnuri Gift Certificates' Go Untact... 10,000 More 'Mobile Affiliates' Added

Small Enterprise and Market Service
Support for Revitalizing Non-Face-to-Face Gift Certificates

Source: Small Enterprise and Market Service

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] Amid the expansion of non-face-to-face (untact) services due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), mobile affiliation for Onnuri Gift Certificates aimed at revitalizing traditional markets and shopping districts will be strengthened. The government plans to expand new affiliated stores through support measures to activate mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates in the second half of this year.

According to the Small Enterprise and Market Service on the 27th, by December this year, activation efforts for Onnuri Gift Certificates will be carried out targeting 223 traditional markets and shopping districts, aiming to secure more than 10,000 new mobile affiliated stores. The Small Enterprise and Market Service plans to induce new affiliations by promoting mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates, motivating affiliation, and guiding the affiliation methods and application form completion.

Inspections will also be conducted on 20,000 existing mobile affiliated stores. They will check the mobile gift certificate QR code payment panels, sticker attachments, and awareness levels, and provide infrastructure support such as application installation assistance.

The Small Enterprise and Market Service will recruit and operate 40 supporters. Personnel capable of actively promoting mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates in traditional markets and shopping districts will be selected by region to provide close on-site support. The performance (affiliation rate, activity content, responsiveness, etc.) and results of the supporters’ promotional activities will be compiled and inspected on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Additionally, an event to present and encourage the use of mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates will be held for more than 30,000 customers visiting traditional markets and shopping districts. Prize events related to affiliation will also be conducted to encourage and motivate affiliation within merchant organizations.

This inspection of affiliated stores and expansion of new affiliations are being promoted to enhance user convenience. The Small Enterprise and Market Service is also introducing an online payment system within online shopping malls to expand mobile gift certificate usage and create a convenient payment environment. Furthermore, they plan to expand the distribution of terminals capable of recognizing mobile gift certificate payment codes (QR, barcode, etc.).

Onnuri Gift Certificates are issued in 'paper', 'electronic', and 'mobile' forms. The issuing authority is the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. The Small Enterprise and Market Service operates it on consignment, and the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation issues the certificates. They are handled by 16 financial institutions including banks. The paper form was first issued in 2009, and card-type electronic gift certificates were added in 2011. The mobile Onnuri Gift Certificate, a smartphone app payment method, was introduced in September last year.

Paper Onnuri Gift Certificates are used at about 1,500 traditional markets and shopping districts nationwide, covering approximately 190,000 stores. Mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates are used in about 1,420 traditional markets and shopping districts nationwide. As of June this year, among 243,662 operating stores in traditional markets and shopping districts nationwide, about 46,252 are mobile gift certificate affiliated stores.

Mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates are purchased as points through smartphones and used for payment. Consumers run a simple payment app for payment, scan the QR code attached to the affiliated store, enter the amount in the app, and complete the payment.

Last year, the total issuance amount of Onnuri Gift Certificates, including paper, electronic, and mobile, was 2.0074 trillion KRW. This year, including supplementary budgets, the goal is to issue more than 4 trillion KRW.

A Small Enterprise and Market Service official said, "We will continue to expand the issuance of mobile Onnuri Gift Certificates to attract younger customers to traditional markets, create a convenient payment environment, and improve user convenience."

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