"No More Full Refunds?" Starbucks Requires 60% of Balance to Be Used Before Refunds Starting Today

[Financial News] Starbucks Coffee Korea Co., Ltd. ended its temporary full-refund policy for prepaid balances on the 14th. The measure had been introduced on the 1st to ease controversy over the so-called Tank Day issue. Starting on the 15th, the company will again apply the existing rule that refunds are available only after 60% or more of the balance has been used.
According to the industry on the day, the temporary easing of refund conditions for Starbucks prepaid cards, which began on the 1st, ended at midnight. With the measure now over, customers who have used at least 60% of the total balance after their last top-up can request a refund for the remaining amount through the Starbucks app or at a store, as before.
Earlier, Starbucks Coffee Korea Co., Ltd. had offered full refunds from the 1st to the 14th, regardless of the spending ratio, as calls for full reimbursement of prepaid funds grew amid the Tank Day controversy.
Cards registered in the Starbucks app could be refunded through the app, while unregistered physical Starbucks cards could be refunded at stores for up to 2 million won. The move also led to a sharp increase in Starbucks app users on the day refunds began.
According to Mobile Index, a data analytics solution from IGAWorks Inc., Starbucks app daily active users, or DAU, reached 1,419,160 on the 1st, when the refund measure began. The average DAU for the 1st and 2nd, at 1,126,813, came to 1,272,987, a 30.9% surge from the average of 869,998 on the 30th and 31st of the previous month.
bng@fnnews.com Kim Hee-sun Reporter