Nowon-gu Issues 18 Billion Won Worth of Nowon Love Gift Certificates

Available for purchase at a 10% discounted price from 10 AM on the 4th... Usable at 10,217 ZeroPay affiliated stores in the area, including convenience stores, beauty salons, and restaurants

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Nowon-gu (District Mayor Oh Seung-rok) issued the first phase of the Nowon Love Gift Certificate worth 18 billion KRW on the 4th to boost sales of local small business owners struggling due to COVID-19 and to revitalize the local economy.

This year, the district maintained a 10% discount rate as it did last year, allowing buyers to purchase a 100,000 KRW gift certificate for 90,000 KRW.

The gift certificates can be used at 10,217 Zero Pay affiliated stores located in Nowon-gu, including academies, pharmacies, convenience stores (excluding company-operated stores), and restaurants.

To promote the use of the gift certificates, the district has actively publicized them to local small business owners since last year, increasing the affiliation rate from 50% to 74%.

Since the Nowon Love Gift Certificate aims to revitalize the local economy and support small business owners, usage is restricted at large supermarkets and gambling-related businesses.

Also, unlike last year, from March 1 this year, academies with annual sales exceeding 1 billion KRW and company-operated stores (franchise company-operated stores run by large or medium-sized enterprises) cannot use the certificates.

The district plans to regularly announce the list of businesses where the gift certificates cannot be used on the district office website so that buyers can check before purchasing.

The gift certificates are mobile-based and can be purchased by installing any of 13 payment apps such as Beeple Zero Pay, Check Pay, and Money Tree on a smartphone.

The gift certificates will be available for purchase from 10 a.m. on the 4th. They come in three denominations: 10,000 KRW, 50,000 KRW, and 100,000 KRW. Regardless of residence area, the monthly discounted purchase limit per person is 700,000 KRW.

Each individual can hold up to 2 million KRW worth of Nowon Love Gift Certificates. Refunds are possible if at least 60% of the face value is used, excluding the 10% discount support applied at purchase.

Meanwhile, the Nowon Love Gift Certificate, which started with an initial issuance of 3 billion KRW in March last year, received high interest by selling out on the first day and issued a total of 8.5 billion KRW in the first half of the year.

With all three issuances sold out on the day of release, expectations for additional issuance grew, leading the district to issue 21.5 billion KRW for the fourth issuance, 2.5 times the amount of the first half.

This is the largest single issuance among the 25 autonomous districts, and all four issuances were completely sold out, setting a record.

District Mayor Oh Seung-rok said, “We thank residents for their great interest and love for the Nowon Love Gift Certificate,” and added, “We hope the use of local currency will support local small business owners who are facing difficulties.”

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