"Merge Point Incident: Are Only Small Business Owners Bearing the Brunt?"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Concerns are rising that if Merge Point fails to pay settlement funds to partner companies on time, the damage may be concentrated only on small business owners.

According to industry sources on the 16th, large distribution companies that have prepared loss compensation through a third-party issuing agency are expected to suffer little financial damage. However, it is reported that many individual business owners who have direct contracts with Merge Point will have to bear considerable losses.

Small business owners who have direct contracts with Merge Plus are trembling with anxiety that they may not receive settlement payments. They reportedly became aware of the suspension of Merge Point sales belatedly, and there are even cases where customers were allowed to pay tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of won with Merge Point. Some users, unaware of the situation, shared information about small businesses maintaining partnership relations online.

Earlier, Merge Point gained great popularity on the 11th by offering unlimited 20% discounts at large marts, convenience stores, and coffee shops, but suddenly stopped selling points and drastically reduced the places where points could be used. Merge Plus stated, "We have accepted the relevant authorities' guidance that the Merge Plus service can be regarded as a prepaid electronic payment method, so for the time being, the service will be streamlined and operated only under the restaurant business classification, which is a lawful service form." They added, "We will expedite the electronic financial business registration process to completely resolve administrative procedure issues and provide a more scalable service within the fourth quarter." As a result, hundreds of users demanding refunds gathered at Merge Plus headquarters, fiercely protesting and causing confusion, with police even dispatched to the scene.

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