FSS Consumer Protection Planning Group Identifies Measures to Prevent Card Point Expiration

Following the First Project on Card Cancellation Two Weeks Ago
Measures Proposed to Prevent Card Point Expiration

Under the leadership of Lee Chanjin, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service, the FSS Consumer Protection Planning Group, which was launched at the end of September, has proposed measures to prevent the expiration of card points. This comes just two weeks after identifying its first project to facilitate card cancellations.

On the 17th, the Financial Supervisory Service announced an improvement plan to promote the use of card points as one of the key initiatives of the planning group.

First, eight major credit card companies (Samsung, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Hana, Woori, Lotte, and BC Card) will introduce an automatic point usage service. For customers aged 65 and older, this automatic usage will be applied by default.

When a member applies for the service, points are automatically used (deducted from the payment amount) in the pre-designated unit whenever a payment is made. Currently, only three companies offer this service.

The Financial Supervisory Service expects that, after the introduction of this service, consumers will be able to conveniently use their points without forgetting when making card payments.

Consumers can apply for or cancel the service at any time through the card company's website or mobile application.

The “One-Stop Point Usage Service” will be provided, allowing consumers to use expiring points immediately after viewing them on their billing statements.

Currently, expiring points are notified on monthly statements starting six months before expiration, but only the expiration date and amount are provided, without instructions on how to use them.

Going forward, consumers will be able to immediately access the point usage screen (for cash conversion, donations, etc.) by scanning a QR code or clicking a shortcut banner on their statements. For elderly customers, the customer service phone number will also be provided to guide them on how to use their points.

Additional notifications will be sent via text message or app alerts before points expire. Currently, most card companies only notify customers about expiring points through statements. In the future, additional notifications will be sent via text or app alerts one week or one month before expiration.

Card Point Inquiry Elderly Education Image. Financial Supervisory Service

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to expand customized education for the elderly.

The Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute and the Credit Finance Association launched the “Integrated Card Point Inquiry and Cash Conversion Service” in 2021, which has been in operation for five years, but many consumers remain unaware of it.

The Financial Supervisory Service has decided to expand promotional efforts. In particular, for elderly consumers, customized education on how to convert card points to cash will be provided in cooperation with consumer protection organizations such as the Korea Financial Consumer Protection Foundation.

The goal is to fully implement the automatic point usage service at all card companies by the end of the year, as well as the one-stop point usage service and pre-expiry text notification service. Card companies that have completed system development will roll out the services sequentially.

The automatic point usage service for the elderly will be implemented starting in February next year, following an announcement of the policy changes in January.

However, as the implementation schedule may vary depending on the speed of system development by each card company, finalized schedules will be announced in advance by each company in January next year.

An official from the Financial Supervisory Service stated, “The FSS will encourage card companies to implement the improvement measures without delay and will actively support efforts to minimize consumer inconvenience during the implementation process.”

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