Committee Orders Card Companies to Refund TMape Crisis Installment Payments... Paving the Way for 13 Billion Won in Consumer Relief

The Financial Supervisory Service has decided to order card companies to refund payments to consumers who were unable to use travel and airline ticket services purchased in installments with credit cards in connection with the "TMape Crisis." This decision is significant because it actively recognizes the consumer's right to withdraw from an installment transaction and the right to raise objections, thereby clarifying the responsibility of card companies. As a result, a path has been opened to compensate consumer damages totaling over 13 billion won.

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According to the Financial Supervisory Service on April 9, the Financial Dispute Mediation Committee (the committee) held a meeting the previous day and made this decision. The committee is an organization that mediates disputes brought by financial consumers against financial institutions.

This decision is considered a case where the financial authorities actively interpreted the Installment Transactions Act to provide relief for consumer damages following the TMape Crisis. After the TMape incident in July 2024, compensation for damages was previously pursued with a focus on the responsibility of small sellers and electronic payment gateway (PG) companies. However, this time, the scope of responsibility has been expanded to include card companies as well.

According to the committee, applicant A purchased an overseas travel package worth 4,940,000 won offered by a travel agency listed on TMON in February 2024, paying in three monthly installments and completing all payments. However, the seller, concerned that they would not be able to receive the payment settlement from TMON, refused to fulfill the travel contract in July of the same year. As a result, A canceled the payment through TMON and exercised the right to withdraw against card company B.

The committee determined that if goods or services are not provided, it is possible to exercise the right to withdraw under the Installment Transactions Act. The decision comprehensively considered the interpretation by the Fair Trade Commission that the right to withdraw may be exercised under the Electronic Commerce Act even when goods are not supplied, the intent of the amendment to the Installment Transactions Act, the applicant's special circumstances, and the unfairness of transferring the risk of unsettled payments from the business to the consumer. Accordingly, the committee found applicant A's exercise of the right to withdraw to be legitimate and decided that card company B should refund the entire installment amount.

In another case, applicant C purchased an airline ticket scheduled for August from a seller on TMON in May 2024 using installment payments and had paid up to the second installment. Later, the seller notified the applicant that the ticket could not be used and that the issuance would be canceled, and guided the applicant to cancel the payment through TMON. After actually canceling the payment, C exercised both the right to withdraw and the right to raise objections against card company D.

The committee also found C's exercise of the right to raise objections to be legitimate and decided that card company D should exempt the applicant from the remaining installment (payment) obligation. Additionally, to clarify that consumers have no remaining payment obligations in similar cases, this case was recorded as a precedent for the right to raise objections, separate from the right to withdraw.

As of the end of December 2025, a total of 11,696 dispute complaints related to installment payments for travel, airline, and accommodation products had been filed with the Financial Supervisory Service and nine card companies, with a total disputed amount of approximately 13.22 billion won. If the parties accept the mediation within 20 days of being notified, the dispute resolution is finalized.

This dispute settlement is the first decision made through the activation of the committee's functions since the announcement of the Financial Supervisory Service's "Financial Consumer Protection Improvement Roadmap" in December of last year and the organizational restructuring that established the Consumer Rights Protection Bureau.

A representative from the Financial Supervisory Service stated, "Through this mediation decision, we will encourage the prompt resolution of remaining disputes between card companies and financial consumers," adding, "We will continue to actively protect consumer rights and interests by further activating the committee."

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