16 Companies Including Dogong and Daou Technology Registered as Prepaid Service Providers... "Unregistered Companies Beware"

Financial Authorities Announce Registration Status of Prepaid Service Providers
"Refunds May Be Difficult If Using Unregistered Companies in Case of Bankruptcy"

On the 19th, the Financial Services Commission announced that it has completed the registration process for 16 prepaid service providers, including Korea Expressway Corporation and Daou Technology. The financial authorities urged consumers to be cautious when using prepaid electronic payment methods issued by unregistered companies, as refunds may be difficult in the event of company bankruptcy.

With the registration of 16 companies such as Korea Expressway Corporation and Daou Technology as prepaid service providers, the number of registered providers increased from 89 to 105.

The authorities explained that the number of registrants increased due to the expanded registration requirements under the amended Electronic Financial Transactions Act, which has been in effect since September 15 of last year, leading to the inclusion of these 16 new companies.

The 16 newly registered providers are required to separately manage the full amount of prepaid funds through guarantee insurance, trusts, or deposits.

Previously, only companies offering two or more types of goods or services were subject to registration, but the amendment removed the industry criteria. The registration exemption threshold for the number of affiliated stores was expanded from 10 or fewer to 2 or more.

Companies with an outstanding balance of 3 billion KRW or less at the end of the quarter were exempt from registration, but after the amendment, those with an outstanding balance under 3 billion KRW at quarter-end and an annual total issuance amount under 50 billion KRW are subject to registration.

The 16 companies voluntarily applied for registration with the Financial Supervisory Service and were selected after review.

The authorities stated that companies subject to registration requirements that fail to register by the deadline and continue to issue or manage prepaid electronic payment methods such as online gift certificates will be subject to criminal penalties under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act, including imprisonment for up to three years or fines up to 20 million KRW.

However, companies with an annual issuance scale under 50 billion KRW or an outstanding balance under 3 billion KRW are exempt from registration under the Act. Use limited to a single affiliated store is also excluded.

The authorities warned that if consumers use payment methods such as gift certificates issued by unregistered prepaid providers and the company goes bankrupt, suspends operations, or reduces affiliated stores, it may be difficult to receive refunds.

An official from the authorities said, "Consumers should verify whether the issuer is a registered company when using prepaid electronic payment methods such as gift certificates."

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