Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation and Seoul Metropolitan Government to Put 5 Billion Won into Boosting Neighborhood Spending

[Financial News] A gift certificate program worth 5 billion won is being launched ahead of the Chuseok holiday to boost sales at micro and small merchants.
 The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership, Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation and Seoul Metropolitan Government signed a win-win agreement at the commission on the 17th to launch the Credit Card Corporate Partnership Gift Certificate program.
 The program is designed to promote credit card spending at micro, small, and medium-sized merchants. Its key feature is linking gift certificate benefits to card payments, moving beyond support for existing payment infrastructure such as terminals and kiosks to increase actual consumer spending and merchant sales.
 The Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation will contribute a total of 5 billion won to the program. The Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership and Seoul Metropolitan Government will link credit card spending with local currency by using regional currency infrastructure such as SeoulPay+.
 Consumers can apply for the event through the apps or websites of participating card companies, then pay with credit or debit cards at micro, small, and medium-sized merchants in Seoul from September 21 to October 18.
 Based on their spending, consumers will be placed into 100,000-won, 200,000-won, and 300,000-won tiers. Card companies will hold separate drawings to award Credit Card Corporate Partnership Gift Certificates worth 10,000 won, 30,000 won, and 50,000 won, respectively. The gift certificates will be distributed in a single batch on November 6 and can be used again at local merchants.
 The program is expected to create a virtuous cycle in local commercial districts by directing card spending to micro, small, and medium-sized merchants and encouraging recipients to use the gift certificates at local merchants.
 After the program ends, the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership and Credit Card Social Contribution Foundation will comprehensively analyze participation levels, card spending, and gift certificate distribution and redemption data to assess its performance.
 Byun Tae-seop, secretary-general of KOFCA, said, "This program is a new attempt that goes a step beyond supporting payment infrastructure such as terminals and kiosks by ensuring that actual spending takes place at micro, small, and medium-sized merchants."
[email protected] Kim Hyun-cheol Reporter