"How to Handle Large Mart Payments via Simple Payment?"... Struggling to Fix the 'Gap' in Win-Win Consumption Support Fund (Comprehensive)

Controversy Over Recognition of Win-Win Consumption Support Fund for Purchases at Large Mart Malls on Naver

Government and Card Industry Seeking Ways to Exclude Sales Performance, but Technically Difficult and Time Is Tight to Reflect Before Cashback Payment on the 15th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund cashback is scheduled to be paid on the 15th, the government and the card industry are struggling to find a way to selectively identify card approval amounts paid in excluded sectors through simple payment methods. It is technically difficult to exclude only specific merchant performances, and there is a tight timeline to reflect this before the cashback payment, causing difficulties.

According to the card industry on the 2nd, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, card companies, and Naver have met several times and are actively seeking solutions to exclude consumption at large online malls through Naver Shopping from the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund performance.

The Win-Win Consumption Support Fund is a policy that returns 10% of the excess amount spent over 3% compared to the average monthly card usage in the second quarter (April to June) of this year when using credit or debit cards during October and November. It refunds up to 200,000 KRW, and the cashback is paid on the 15th of the following month.

As this policy aims to revitalize consumption weakened by COVID-19, the government has maximized the scope of application but excluded large marts, department stores, large online malls, and luxury specialty stores to promote the local economy.

Loophole in Recognizing Large Mart Performance through Simple Payment

However, controversy arose as purchases made with credit cards or Naver Pay at Emart Mall and Homeplus, which are listed on Naver, are recognized as performance for the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund. Similar issues occur when paying with simple payment methods like Naver Pay at large online malls such as Lotte On and Interpark, which are excluded sectors. This means that whether the performance is recognized depends on the payment method, even for the same product.

This is because, due to the payment structure, card companies cannot distinguish whether transactions made on Naver Shopping are from large marts or small businesses. Only Naver Financial, an electronic payment gateway (PG) provider, appears to the card companies.

An industry insider said, "After this issue surfaced, the government decided to exclude it from the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund performance, and they are consulting with big tech companies like Naver to find technical solutions from various angles, but nothing has been finalized yet."

Technically Difficult to Selectively Exclude Consumption at Specific Merchants

The problem is that it is technically difficult to exclude consumption only at specific merchants from the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund performance. Simply sharing sub-merchant names from big tech companies like Naver or Kakao with card companies or first-tier PG companies does not solve the issue. For example, when purchasing products from different merchants on Naver Shopping and placing them in a cart to pay at once with Naver Pay, it is physically difficult to selectively identify only the large mart performance among them.

The tight remaining time is also an obstacle. Cashback for last month's card usage must be returned on the 15th, and a solution must be found before then to minimize consumer confusion. The cashback amount may vary depending on whether the performance is excluded. From the card companies' perspective, they need to find a method by this week at the latest to secure physical time to selectively identify simple payment amounts used in excluded sectors from card usage performance.

Meanwhile, the Win-Win Consumption Support Fund is showing results after operating for a month. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, as of the 29th of last month, the total amount scheduled for card cashback payments was 302.5 billion KRW. The number of people who applied to participate in the cashback program until last month was 14.88 million. This corresponds to 34.5% of the 43.17 million adults aged 19 and over who hold credit or debit cards. Some criticize the participation rate as low, analyzing that there is little incentive to spend 1 million KRW to receive 100,000 KRW.

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