Local Marts and Supermarkets "Condemn Card Fee Increase... Terminate Franchise with Shinhan Card First"

Mart Association to Take Collective Action Against Card Industry on 28th
"All Financial Services Related to Shinhan Card to Be Suspended"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Some self-employed business owners, such as local marts and supermarkets, have taken collective action in protest against the increase in card fees. They argue that while card companies are enjoying a boom amid the COVID-19 situation, the fee burden on self-employed business owners is steadily increasing.

On the 28th, self-employed groups including the Korea Mart Association held a press conference in front of the Seoul Gwanghwamun Government Complex to condemn the card companies that notified them of the fee increase.

Previously, at the end of last year, the qualified cost, which is the cost concept of card fees, was calculated, and it was announced that the preferential fee rate for small and medium-sized merchants with annual sales of less than 3 billion KRW would be lowered.

However, it has been reported that notifications have been sent to general merchants who do not receive the preferential fee rate, informing them of an increase in card fee rates compared to the current rates.

This applies to relatively large-scale sales but low-margin, high-volume businesses such as local marts and supermarkets.

According to the Mart Association, the fee rate notified by Shinhan Card averaged 2.28% among 478 sampled members, approaching the highest rate of 2.3%, with an average increase of 0.26 percentage points.

The other eight card companies (with sample sizes ranging from 123 to 467) notified fee rates averaging between 2.08% and 2.25%, with increases ranging from 0.02 to 0.10 percentage points.

They stated that card companies are enjoying a boom due to the surge in non-face-to-face consumption amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and declared that they will proceed with a 'Merchant Independence Declaration' to resist the unilateral tyranny of card companies.

The Mart Association raised their voices, saying, "We will first begin terminating Shinhan Card merchant contracts, which notified the highest increase rate," and "We plan to suspend all financial transactions related to Shinhan Card, including corporate cards and main bank transfers."

They appealed that the card payment ratio in retail sales has long exceeded 90%, and in the case of local marts, which are low-margin, high-volume retail businesses, card fees exceed rent.

They also criticized, "The card companies' cunning calculation to compensate for the reduced profits from the lowered preferential fee rate by increasing fees for general merchants is a trick to avoid any loss, akin to taking stones from the bottom to support the top."

They added, "The Shinhan Card boycott movement will be expanded from the Korea Mart Association to all general merchant industries in the future."

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