10% Discount When Using 'Onnuri Gift Certificate' for Payments at Small Business Stores

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 28th that it has newly launched the ‘Rechargeable Card-type Onnuri Gift Certificate’.

The rechargeable card-type Onnuri Gift Certificate (hereinafter referred to as the card gift certificate) is a new type of gift certificate where consumers register their existing cards (credit/debit) on the ‘Onnuri Gift Certificate’ mobile application, purchase (charge) the gift certificate, and then use it via physical card payment.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has been issuing ‘Onnuri Gift Certificates’ usable at traditional markets, shopping districts, and alley-type shopping districts since 2009. Starting at around 20 billion KRW at launch, it has expanded to a scale of 3.5 trillion KRW this year.

Initially launched as paper-type Onnuri Gift Certificates, the QR code-based ‘mobile gift certificate’ was introduced in 2019. Now, with the release of the new app-based card gift certificate, consumers’ accessibility and choices have been further broadened.

The card gift certificate was planned as part of the digital transformation of traditional markets in response to changes in consumer spending patterns and payment methods. Through this, the market aims to attract not only the traditional main customer base of middle-aged and elderly people but also people in their 20s and 30s, thereby helping increase sales for market merchants.

Unlike the existing paper gift certificates, the card gift certificate can be purchased non-face-to-face 24 hours a day without having to bring an ID or visit a bank. Even without the need to carefully carry it like paper gift certificates, shopping is possible at Onnuri Gift Certificate affiliated stores equipped with card terminals.

Consumers can register and use multiple cards they already own without needing to issue new credit or debit cards. For this, major card companies such as BC Card (from August 29), NongHyup, Hana, Hyundai, Kookmin, Samsung, and Shinhan Card (from September 1) will participate in the first phase. Most domestic card companies, including Lotte and Kakao, are expected to join sequentially by the end of this year.

Also, since the physical card payment method is used, income deduction for traditional markets is automatically applied without any separate procedures. This allows benefits of up to 1 million KRW with a 40% income deduction rate.

The purchase amount of the used card gift certificate is included in the card usage performance as is. In other words, all unique benefits of the card, such as point accumulation and discounts, can be fully received.

Furthermore, the existing paper gift certificates have a 5% discount rate with a monthly purchase limit of 700,000 KRW. The card gift certificates apply a double discount rate of 10%. For the month of September, to ease the burden of Chuseok holiday shopping for the public, the purchase limit has been expanded up to 1 million KRW.

This year, card gift certificates are planned to be issued on a scale of 1 trillion KRW. The issuance scale will be further increased next year. The ‘Onnuri Gift Certificate’ app will be gradually released from the afternoon of the 29th and will be available for download on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Minister Lee Young of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said, “We will actively support the public to make practical purchases at traditional markets and shopping districts using the newly launched card gift certificates this Chuseok,” adding, “We will do our best to develop the related app into a platform representing traditional markets and shopping districts, serving as a catalyst for the digital transformation of traditional markets.”

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