Daejeon City Supports Small Business Local Currency Card Fees

Physical card image of the local currency 'Ontong Daejeon'. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] The Daejeon city government will support the local currency card fees borne by small business owners from August to November.

The city announced on the 29th that it will fully cover the Ontong Daejeon card fees during this period.

The support for card fees is intended to help local small business owners struggling due to the prolonged social distancing measures and to revitalize the operation of Ontong Daejeon affiliated stores.

Typically, card fees are set between 0.5% and 1.3% based on the sales amount of self-employed individuals. The self-employed receive a post-settlement amount after deducting the fees from the card usage amount.

Card fees represent one of the largest fixed costs for self-employed individuals, alongside rent, increasing their financial burden.

In this regard, the city signed a business agreement with Hana Card and NICE Information & Telecommunication Co., Ltd. to support four months’ worth of card fees to reduce the burden on self-employed individuals.

The support targets self-employed individuals whose business registration address is in Daejeon and all Ontong Daejeon card-affiliated stores. Stores included in the target group can receive fee support without a separate application process.

However, gambling-related industries, hospitals, pharmacies, other professional occupations, and industries related to finance and insurance, which are excluded from small business policy funds, are not included in the support sectors.

Earlier, on the 22nd, the city refunded 1.1 billion KRW in card fees for August to about 36,000 businesses through Hana Card. The fees for September will be paid on October 1, for October on October 30, and for November on December 24, sequentially.

Samsung Prepaid Card fees from August to November will be paid together on December 24.

The city will accept online support applications from the 29th of this month to the 12th of next month via the Ontong Daejeon website for some individual stores that did not receive prompt payment due to unconfirmed account numbers.

Applications can be made with minimal supporting documents such as a business registration certificate and a copy of the bankbook.

Self-employed individuals who missed the prompt payment and apply online, without changes in account or business information, can receive card fees for August to October on October 30 and for November on December 24 with a single application.

For more details, refer to the announcement posted on the city’s website or contact the Ontong Daejeon customer center.

Ko Hyun-deok, Director of the City’s Job and Economy Bureau, said, “We hope that the card fee support will provide practical help to local self-employed individuals who have faced difficulties due to compliance with social distancing rules,” and added, “The city will do its best to stabilize the management of self-employed individuals even in the recovery phase of daily life.”

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