[Practical Finance] Strategic 'Jjantech' with Forced Savings and Various Point Hunting...

High Interest and Inflation Era: 'Let's Save Even Small Change'
Low Barrier and Rewarding 'Forced Savings' with Contributions Around 1000 Won
Popular Points Accumulation Usable Like Cash, Even from Recycling Money

[Asia Economy Reporters Jehoon Yoo and Minwoo Lee] Lee Jonghwa (35, pseudonym), a salaried worker living in the Seoul metropolitan area, recently posted a "purchase review" for the first time ever on an item he bought online. The reason was that he would receive a few hundred won worth of points if he uploaded a review with photos. In addition, Lee actively participates in so-called "digital waste picking," where he earns about 10 to 15 won in points each time he visits event webpages, as well as various "app-tech" activities using financial and fintech company applications. Lee said, "Besides the small fun of saving up pocket change to buy necessary items, it’s also about trying to reduce everyday expenses."

With the advent of a high inflation and high interest rate era, more financial consumers are taking on "jjantech" (frugal tech). This is due to the sluggish asset markets such as stocks, real estate, and virtual assets, combined with soaring prices tightening people’s budgets. Online, tips for saving on living expenses are rapidly shared, including forced savings of spare change and so-called online digital waste picking, which can earn as little as around 10 won.

◆Forced Savings = Among the jjantech products attracting financial consumers recently, "forced savings" stands out. This method offers preferential interest rates if you save consistently over a set period. Representative examples include KakaoBank’s 26-week savings, Toss Bank’s "Kiwoobwayo" savings, and Woori Bank’s 200-day savings. As the era of chasing "one-shot reversals" through risky assets ends with rising interest rates, investment sentiment seems to be shifting toward traditional saving methods like "gathering dust to make a mountain."

The reason jjantech beginners are drawn to these products is their low entry barriers. The subscription period is about six months, and the minimum monthly deposit is as low as 1,000 won. Essentially, you only need to save small amounts of pocket money. Additionally, these products include features that stimulate subscribers’ sense of achievement. They offer incentives such as preferential interest rates for consistent deposits within the period. This is credited with preventing "three-day resolutions" and encouraging participation by making savers feel the reward of accumulating a lump sum.

Moreover, unlike traditional simple savings products, these combine fun elements. Toss Bank’s Kiwoobwayo savings is designed like a pet-raising game. The animal egg given at subscription hatches the next day and grows through 10 stages until the maturity period. Savers can watch the animal grow visually while enjoying the fun of increasing their savings. This product offers up to 3% interest for a six-month maturity. The deposit limit is up to 1 million won per month, with weekly deposits ranging from 1,000 to 200,000 won.

KakaoBank’s 26-week savings also includes a visual feature where a character stamp is marked each time a deposit is made. This aims to prevent mid-term withdrawal and make saving money enjoyable. Subscribers choose their first-week deposit amount from 1,000 won, 2,000 won, 3,000 won, 5,000 won, or 10,000 won, and the amount automatically increases weekly by that amount. If automatic transfers succeed for 26 weeks, a preferential interest rate of 0.5%p is provided, allowing for a maximum annual interest rate of 3.50%.

Additionally, discount coupons in partnership with retail and interior companies are provided. Starting with E-Mart, partnerships have been formed with Market Kurly, Happy Point, Kakao Page, and others. Recently, KakaoBank launched the "26-week savings with Oneul-ui Jip (Today’s House)" in collaboration with the interior platform Oneul-ui Jip. If automatic transfers succeed for 26 consecutive weeks, subscribers receive discount coupons worth about 34,000 won in seven installments. The more consecutive successful weeks, the more discount coupons are given, stimulating a sense of saving achievement. These coupons can be used on the Oneul-ui Jip platform to purchase furniture, home appliances, and daily necessities.

Woori Bank’s 200-day savings is also designed to encourage steady saving by allowing automatic daily deposits of a fixed amount or automatic deposits of spare change below a certain unit from a designated account.

Such forced savings products are steadily increasing. The number of new accounts opened for KakaoBank’s limited-edition 26-week savings rose nearly threefold from 1.18 million in 2018 (June to December) to 3.67 million last year. As of the end of July this year, it reached 2.12 million. Toss Bank’s Kiwoobwayo savings also surpassed 390,000 new accounts as of the end of July this year. Woori Bank’s 200-day savings has also been growing, with 140,472 accounts opened in 2020 (September to December), 218,540 in 2021, and 111,503 accounts sold through August 30 this year.

◆'Gathering Dust to Make a Mountain' Financial App-Tech Also Gains Attention = As inflation worsens consumers’ budgets, "digital waste picking" has become active online recently. This involves visiting specific webpages or participating in events to earn points ranging from as little as ten won to as much as a thousand or ten thousand won. Since consumption itself has become online and platform-based, points have a cash-like nature and the participation method is simple, gaining public favor.

A representative example is "Naver Pay Points" provided by Naver Financial. Simply accessing a webpage for a specific financial product earns 10 to 15 won in points. Online communities frequently update lists of such event webpages, called "Naver waste picking." Although these event points cannot be converted to cash, they can be used in various ways within the Naver platform.

Going a step further, subscribing to Naver Plus Membership (4,900 won per month) allows additional points accumulation: 4% for payment amounts between 10,000 and 200,000 won, and 1% for amounts exceeding 200,000 won. For example, purchasing 100,000 won worth of goods on Naver Smart Store provides 5,000 points, including the basic 1% accumulation and 4% from Naver Plus Membership benefits. Mathematically, if monthly spending exceeds 122,500 won, the membership fee is effectively recovered.

Such app-tech is also actively developed on other simple payment platforms. Toss offers Toss Pay Money accumulation through weekly missions, pedometer challenges, button presses, and lucky quizzes. 010 Pay, in partnership with Woori Card, runs a "Lucky Box" event where the 010 Pay check card randomly accumulates up to 10% cashback on payments anywhere without monthly spending requirements. This check card has maintained the top popularity among domestic check cards throughout the year.

Banks and card companies are also actively engaging in such app-tech. For companies, it locks in customers; for consumers, it offers the advantage of securing points or cash-equivalent points even in small amounts like waste picking. KB Kookmin Bank provides up to 600 points weekly through the "KB Daily Walking" feature in the KB Star Banking app. Hana Financial Group runs events like Lucky Box and Money Ladder through its group lifestyle finance platform "Hana Money." Shinhan Card also holds events in its "Shinhan Play" app, giving 3 to 7 points for attendance checks and random points (up to 10,000 points) for achieving 10, 30, and 50 days of attendance.

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