Daejeon Local Currency 'Ontong Daejeon', Cashback Support Limit and Rate Decrease Starting Next Month

Image of the Daejeon local currency card 'Ontong Daejeon'. Source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The cashback limit and rate for Daejeon's local currency 'Ontong Daejeon' will be adjusted.

Daejeon City announced on the 27th that after ending the Ontong Daejeon launch special event at the end of this month, the cashback support limit will be reduced to 500,000 KRW each with a maximum rate of 10% starting from the 1st of next month.

During the event period, the cashback support limit was 1,000,000 KRW per person, and a 15% rate was applied regardless of the amount.

However, from next month, Ontong Daejeon’s cashback support limit will be reduced from 1,000,000 KRW to 500,000 KRW, and a differentiated rate system will be applied according to the payment amount bracket: 10% cashback for payments up to 200,000 KRW, and 5% cashback for payments exceeding 200,000 KRW up to 500,000 KRW.

This operational method was determined based on the analysis of usage status since Ontong Daejeon’s launch (as of last month, 76% of payments were under 500,000 KRW), indicating the need for differentiated cashback limits and rates.

First, through this change, the issuance amount of local currency can be expanded up to 100 billion KRW monthly within a limited budget. Additionally, unlike the previous system where high-value payers received more cashback benefits, the city explains that the structure will be improved so that frequent and small-amount payers will receive more cashback.

The city plans to expand 'discount affiliated stores' that provide their own discount services of 5% or more and explore holding the Daejeon Ontong Sale in the second half of the year to prevent a decrease in local currency usage due to reduced cashback benefits.

Currently, about 460 discount affiliated stores have been recruited, and the city aims to expand this to over 1,000 stores by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, as of the 22nd of this month, the number of Ontong Daejeon card issuances is 340,000, and the issuance amount is 230.4 billion KRW.

Ko Hyun-deok, Director of the City’s Job and Economy Bureau, said, “The city will strive to ensure that Ontong Daejeon benefits reach more citizens,” and added, “Furthermore, in the second half of the year, we plan to provide differentiated additional services unique to Ontong Daejeon.”

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