'Botaem-e' Card for Local Subsidies Expands Scope to Saemaul Geumgo, Credit Unions, and Fisheries Cooperatives

Launched in 2024, issued by 12 card companies
Scope of use expanded to include local financial institutions

The scope of use for the 'Botaem-e (Local Subsidy Integrated Management Network) exclusive card,' which helps improve transparency and efficient execution in managing local subsidies, will be expanded.

On May 10, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the use of the Botaem-e card, which was previously centered around 12 commercial banks, will be extended to community-based financial institutions such as Saemaul Geumgo, credit unions, and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives. This expansion is expected to create an environment where local subsidy project operators nationwide can use the system in a uniform manner.

Until now, the government had operated the Botaem-e system, which is based on exclusive accounts and dedicated cards, moving away from manual management methods that relied on paper receipts.

In operation since 2024, this system manages the entire process of local subsidy work in a one-stop manner. In particular, it allows small expenditures such as purchasing goods and paying for services to be processed by card, enabling automatic recordkeeping and documentation, which has been credited with reducing the workload for administrators.

Currently, the system is operated by 12 financial institutions. The Ministry plans to further expand the use of the Botaem-e card to advance the local subsidy execution system.

Although community financial institutions like Saemaul Geumgo, credit unions, and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives were already able to execute payments through exclusive accounts from this year, the system has been upgraded since last month to also allow card payment methods through active cooperation.

Because Botaem-e card transactions are automatically recorded in the system, errors in the execution process can be minimized, and the contents and history of payments can be clearly tracked. This plays a decisive role in preventing improper receipt of local subsidies and strengthening accountability in their execution.

Song Kyungjoo, Director General for Local Finance and Economy at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "We will continue to develop various payment methods that can be utilized in the field and build an easier and more convenient system so that local subsidies can be used more efficiently on-site."

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