Disaster Relief Fund Prepaid Card Recharge Limit Now Up to 3 Million Won [Ki Ha-young's Everyday Card]

Temporary Operation Until January 31 Next Year
Measures to Improve Disaster Relief Fund Execution Efficiency
Also Applies to Sangsaeng National Support Fund

Is there anyone these days without at least one credit card? In modern society, anyone can have a card if they want. Credit cards have brought unparalleled convenience to daily life. Now, wherever you go, you can easily see people paying with credit cards or smartphones. As demand has increased, cards with various benefits are being released almost daily. Accordingly, Asia Economy delivers various stories related to cards, which are inseparable from our consumer life, through the weekly 'Cards in Daily Life' corner, including introductions of new cards, behind-the-scenes industry stories, and guides for card beginners.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Until the end of January next year, the recharge limit for support prepaid cards issued by the national or local governments will increase from 500,000 won to 3,000,000 won. This is a measure to improve the administrative efficiency of disaster relief funds.

On the 17th, the amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act containing this exception passed the Cabinet meeting. Originally, under the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, the recharge limit for anonymous prepaid cards is 500,000 won, but this limit will be temporarily raised until January 31 next year.

Earlier, in April last year, the government also raised the limit for a while through an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act based on a proposal from Gyeonggi Province with the same content. This was to enable the national or local governments to provide disaster relief funds using anonymous prepaid cards in addition to credit or check cards. This change is expected to resolve the inconvenience for citizens who had to receive multiple cards when receiving disaster relief funds exceeding 500,000 won via prepaid cards and reduce the cost of producing prepaid cards.

Accordingly, the Win-Win National Support Fund, expected to be paid before Chuseok at the earliest, will also apply the 3,000,000 won recharge limit for prepaid cards. For example, if a household of 10 people (parents + 8 children) receives 2,500,000 won in disaster relief funds, previously, at least five prepaid cards of 500,000 won each were needed. However, with this amendment, even if the parents receive the funds separately, only two prepaid cards are required to receive the disaster relief funds. It is now possible for one person to receive the entire 2,500,000 won or for the parents to receive 1,250,000 won each.

In the case of the nationwide disaster relief funds paid last year, the proportion of those who received funds via prepaid cards was 13.1%, which was less preferred than credit/check cards (66.1%), but the demand was still considerable.

The Win-Win National Support Fund, which is scheduled to provide 250,000 won per person to about 88% of the entire population, will also allow recipients to choose their preferred method among credit/check cards, prepaid cards, or local love gift certificates. Considering the COVID-19 quarantine situation, the payment schedule has not yet been finalized, but the government plans to complete preparations such as confirming recipients and support fund usage locations and linking computer networks by the end of this month.

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