Gukjeongwi to Induce Reduction of Small Business Payment Agency Fees

[Financial News] The National Planning and Coordination Committee is pushing for a reform of the electronic payment agency (PG) fee system to reduce the burden of payment fees on small businesses. The plan is to expand the mandatory disclosure of fees and streamline the complex fee structure to induce fee reductions.
On the 13th, according to the National Planning Committee and the financial sector, the National Planning Committee is discussing ways to reduce the burden of payment agency fees. In addition, they are conducting related surveys in consultation with financial authorities.
The discussions within the National Planning Committee are centered around 'expanding the mandatory disclosure of fees' and 'restructuring the multi-level PG structure'.
First, there is a plan to expand the mandatory disclosure target for fee rates among simple payment companies from an average monthly transaction volume of 100 billion won or more to 20 billion won or more. In this case, the number of companies subject to mandatory disclosure of fee rates for the second half of this year, which will be announced in February-March next year, will increase from the current 11 to 19. The direction of the discussion is also to subdivide the disclosure items from the existing total amount disclosure to online and offline distinctions, external payments, and internal revenue distinctions.
If the target for mandatory disclosure of fees is expanded, merchants will be able to compare each operator's fees more easily. The disclosure items will also be subdivided, making the transaction structure more transparent and expanding the choices available to merchants.
The National Planning Committee is also planning to promote the improvement of the multi-level payment agency structure within the year. Currently, in the payment agency market, it is common for a lower PG company to be attached under an upper PG company. For small merchants, due to their small transaction volume and low credit rating, it is difficult to contract directly with upper PGs, leading to frequent transactions through lower PGs. As the transaction stages increase, the fees borne by merchants increase, and some lower PGs include unlicensed companies, raising concerns about transaction stability.
Accordingly, the National Planning Committee is reviewing a plan to make upper PG companies responsible for evaluating the soundness and risk of lower PGs. The intention is to exclude unlicensed PG companies and transparently organize the transaction structure.
Initially, within the National Planning Committee, there was a discussion on a method of uniformly setting fees based on costs for PG companies, similar to the 'eligible cost system' used in card company fee calculations. The eligible cost system is a method of adjusting fees to an appropriate level at the financial authority level by reflecting the operating costs of card companies.
However, the current situation has changed to encourage voluntary reductions. The idea is that if transparent information is provided and competition is activated through the expansion of fee disclosure and transaction structure improvement, fees can also be adjusted voluntarily. A financial sector official said, "Considering that PG companies are not performing well, it seems to take into account that if fee reductions are pressured, the deficit could only widen further."
coddy@fnnews.com Ye Byeong-jeong, Kwon Jun-ho reporters