Mass Confusion Caused by Merge Point... "Why Are Financial Authorities Not Taking Action?"

On the afternoon of the 13th, subscribers demanding refunds gathered at the headquarters of the payment platform company 'Merge Point' located in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] As confusion continues due to the reduction of services by the discount payment mobile platform Merge Point, questions about the responsibility of financial authorities are being raised. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has stated that it will first encourage Merge Point to register under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act (EFTA) and monitor the response. However, no concrete measures to alleviate consumer anxiety have been presented yet, causing growing unease.

On the 16th, victims of Merge Point criticized not only the operating company Merge Plus but also the financial authorities online. They claim that the situation escalated because the authorities did not actively supervise.

Merge Point is a payment service promoting "unlimited 20% discount," and according to industry sources, the number of users recently reached 1 million, with transactions amounting to 30 to 40 billion KRW monthly. However, on the night of the 11th, Merge Plus suddenly announced that it would stop selling points (Merge Money) and reduce usage locations, accepting the authorities' guidance that it could be considered a prepaid electronic payment method under the EFTA. This caused confusion as hundreds of users visited the headquarters demanding refunds.

Merge Plus started its service in 2018. However, the FSS has been criticized for failing to properly grasp the service's reality, as it did not issue consumer advisories until now.

In the early stages of the incident, the FSS stated that it could not take measures such as requesting data from companies not registered under the EFTA. But as the situation worsened, it announced plans to register Merge Plus as an electronic payment business operator to encourage normal operations, monitor the company's responses and progress, and actively cooperate with related agencies.

However, there is criticism about whether the FSS's response can be considered a practical solution. Additionally, no measures have yet been proposed to ease user concerns.

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