'1 Point = 1 Won' Scattered Card Points to Be Cashed Out at Once Starting This Month End

Korea Financial Investment Association Finalizes System Setup
Expected Reduction in Card Points Disappearing by 100 Billion Won Annually

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] From the end of this month, accumulated points scattered across multiple cards will be able to be converted into cash and used in one place.

According to the credit card industry on the 2nd, the Korea Federation of Credit Finance Associations has entered the final inspection phase ahead of the launch of the "Card Points Bulk Account Transfer System" at the end of this month. This service allows users to convert points from multiple cards into cash at once and transfer them to their desired account. A federation official said, "We are conducting the final system check aiming to launch the service this year," adding, "If there are no major issues, we plan to unveil the service at the end of this month."

Currently, on the Korea Federation of Credit Finance Associations' "Card Points Integrated Inquiry Service" website, users can only check the point accumulation details of 10 card companies including Shinhan, Samsung, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Lotte, Woori, Hana, BC, and NH Nonghyup. To convert points into cash, users had to visit each card company’s website individually, which was inconvenient. Once this service is introduced, users will be able to convert the points they have checked into cash at once and transfer them to their own accounts.

Card points are rewards based on card usage, but it has been continuously pointed out that consumers do not use them because they do not know how to utilize them. In fact, annually, card points worth around 100 billion KRW expire. According to data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Yoon Kwan-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the amount of expired points from eight major credit card companies was 119.8 billion KRW in 2016, 115.1 billion KRW in 2017, 102.4 billion KRW in 2018, and 101.7 billion KRW in 2019. In the first half of this year, points worth 48.3 billion KRW also disappeared.

On the other hand, the amount of points accumulated from credit card usage has been increasing every year. Although card points vary by card company, their validity period is generally about five years. The accumulated point balance was 1.8258 trillion KRW in 2016, 1.8877 trillion KRW in 2017, 1.9012 trillion KRW in 2018, and 2.0261 trillion KRW in 2019. As of the first half of this year, it stands at 2.0747 trillion KRW.

Card points can be converted into cash starting from 1 point and can also be used for national tax payments, donations, and more. From next year, credit card points will also be inheritable. The Financial Supervisory Service plans to introduce a system through the revision of the "Standard Terms and Conditions for Individual Credit Card Members" so that from next year, when a card company learns of a member’s death through inheritance-related financial transaction inquiries, it will guide the member’s heirs on the points held and how to inherit them. Additionally, the rounding or rounding up of points borne by card companies will be improved according to the payment amount.

An industry official said, "There has been continuous criticism that expired card points should be reduced to increase consumer benefits," adding, "With the introduction of this service, it is expected that the convenience for consumers using card points will improve."

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