Smile Card Surpasses 1 Million Issued... 100% Winning Roulette Event

First Record of E-commerce PLCC
Commemorative Event Until the 20th

[Asia Economy Reporter Minyoung Cha] Online distribution company eBay Korea announced on the 14th that it will hold the ‘Smile Card 1 Million Satisfaction!’ event until the 20th to celebrate surpassing 1 million cumulative issuances of the ‘Smile Card.’

As of December, the Smile Card has recorded a cumulative payment amount of approximately 4.093 trillion KRW and about 111.4 million payment transactions. This indicates that it has established itself not just by securing members but as a credit card frequently and widely used by its members. The total accumulated Smile Cash earned by users through Smile Card usage has exceeded 48 billion KRW, demonstrating substantial benefits.

The Smile Card is a Private Label Credit Card (PLCC) first introduced in June 2018 by eBay Korea in partnership with Hyundai Card, marking the first of its kind in the online commerce industry. Without any performance or limit restrictions, users earn up to 2% of their spending as e-money Smile Cash whenever they use the card at any online or offline affiliated store. Especially this year, due to the surge in online shopping demand caused by COVID-19, the issuance process?where the card is inserted into Smile Pay within 30 seconds after application?has contributed to increasing the card’s popularity.

Strong loyalty has also been secured. Smile Card members’ payment amounts during eBay Korea’s largest annual shopping festival, ‘Big Smile Day,’ increased by 36% thanks to the accumulation and discount benefits provided during the event. The maximum single transaction amount by a single member exceeded 73 million KRW. In 2020, Smile Card members received an average annual Smile Cash accumulation benefit of about 100,000 KRW.

The linkage with eBay Korea’s simple payment service, Smile Pay, is also notable. The Smile Card is automatically linked to Smile Pay immediately upon issuance, allowing use without a physical card. Since the accumulation benefits increase when using Smile Pay, many customers use the two services together. Additionally, customized promotions for affiliated stores have been designed, resulting in significant actual sales increases from the perspective of affiliated brand companies.

Smile Pay users most frequently made payments at CJ Mall, Yogiyo, Market Kurly, H Mall, and Aladin, with Smile Cash accumulated through Smile Pay affiliated stores reaching a total of 2.3 billion KRW.

To commemorate this, eBay Korea has prepared various events to thank customers until the 20th. First, by analyzing data on Smile Card members’ status and purchases on Gmarket and Auction, customers who answer quizzes correctly will receive Smile Cash immediately. Also, Smile Card members who take a photo of their physical Smile Card and upload it on Instagram with the required hashtags will receive special Smile Card goods on a first-come, first-served basis. There is also a roulette event where participants have a 100% chance of winning. By spinning the roulette on the Smile Card event page, users can randomly receive discount coupons of up to 50% (usable when paying with the Smile Card).

Yoo Doo-ho, Head of Marketing at eBay Korea, said, “The Smile Card was able to provide real satisfaction to online shoppers because eBay Korea, which ‘knows online shopping well,’ proactively designed the benefits and issuance process. We sincerely thank our customers for their great support and plan to introduce services that further enhance exclusive experiences in the future.”

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