Will Cafe Gifticons Change? Starting with Starbucks, Amounts Displayed and Remaining Balance Saved

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] From now on, Starbucks gifticons will allow users to know the amount without having to scan the exchange voucher at the store POS (Point of Sale system). The previous issue where the gifticon could not be used for amounts less than the designated value will also be improved, enabling usage below the gifticon value and allowing balance accumulation. As Starbucks, a well-known franchise in the cafe industry, has announced this, other companies are expected to follow suit.

Starbucks Gifticon Improvement Proposal Example. (Photo by Yoon Chang-hyun)

According to Yoon Changhyun, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, Starbucks has agreed to accept and implement these mobile gift card payment improvements.

Yoon pointed out two main issues. The first concerns the display of the gift card amount. When receiving a Starbucks gifticon via mobile gift cards such as KakaoTalk Gift, the sender could see the amount, but the recipient could not. This caused inconvenience as customers had to scan the POS at the store every time before use to check the amount.

The other issue relates to usage below the gift card amount. For paper gift certificates, it is generally possible to get a cash refund for the remaining balance if more than 70% of the face value is used. However, for Starbucks mobile gift cards, usage below the value was not possible, and balance refunds were difficult, leading users to often purchase additional products to make up the amount.

Starbucks has sent an official letter accepting all the pointed-out issues and promising improvements. According to Starbucks' commitment, the gift image will now display the amount so consumers can know the value without scanning the POS. Also, even if purchasing products below the amount shown on the mobile gift card, payment will be allowed as long as a certain minimum amount is exceeded, and a function to accumulate the remaining balance will be added. Starbucks is reportedly in discussions with Kakao, the platform operator of KakaoTalk, to implement these improvements.

Representative Yoon said, "I expect Kakao to soon respond to Starbucks' willingness to improve customer inconvenience," adding, "I will continue to monitor and urge so that all improvements can be implemented within this year."

Since most cafe franchises have similar mobile gift card usage methods, a wave of change is expected to sweep the cafe industry’s mobile gift cards, led by Starbucks.

Experts say this was a necessary measure to realize consumer rights. Professor Eunhee Lee of Inha University’s Department of Consumer Studies said in a phone interview, "It is a violation of consumer rights that things possible with general gift cards are not allowed only with mobile gift cards," and added, "It is necessary to actively pursue consumer-related policies from a customer-oriented perspective."

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