[Ki Ha-young's Life Card] Confusing 'Disaster Relief Fund', Where Can You Use It?

When Applying by Card, Previous Month's Performance Included,
Card Benefits Such as Billing Discounts Equally Applied
Each Card Company Launches Service to Guide Usable Merchants

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young]Is there anyone these days without at least one credit card? In modern society, anyone can have a card if they want one. Credit cards have brought unparalleled convenience to daily life. Now, wherever you go, you can easily see people paying with credit cards or smartphones. As demand has increased, cards with various benefits are being released almost daily. Accordingly, Asia Economy delivers diverse stories related to cards, which are inseparable from our consumer life, through the weekly 'Cards in Daily Life' corner?from introducing new cards to industry behind-the-scenes and guides for card beginners.

From the 11th, the government’s 'Emergency Disaster Relief Fund' application through card companies began. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, from the 11th to the 15th, 9.97 million households applied for the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund, with the application amount reaching approximately 6.6732 trillion KRW. Excluding 2.86 million households eligible for cash payments, about 53% of the total applicants applied for the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund via cards.

Now, you might be more curious about how to use the relief fund than how to apply for it. The Emergency Disaster Relief Fund is credited within 48 hours after application. For example, if you applied on the 11th, you can start using it from the 13th. Once you receive a text message from the card company confirming that the relief fund is available, you can use it in the same way as your regular card. However, confusion has arisen regarding ambiguous usage locations.

Basically, the government’s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund follows the usage locations of the childcare coupon. Although its usage locations are broader than Gyeonggi-do’s disaster basic income, which restricts use to stores with annual sales under 1 billion KRW, it cannot be used at large marts, department stores, online e-commerce, or duty-free shops to support local small businesses.

First, it cannot be used at 'department stores' such as Shinsegae, Lotte, Hyundai, NC Department Store, AK Plaza, or 'large marts' like E-Mart, E-Mart Traders, E-Mart Everyday, Homeplus, Homeplus Express, Lotte Mart, and Lotte Super. However, GS The Fresh and E-Mart No Brand are included as usage locations. GS The Fresh is included because it has a high proportion of fresh food sales, and No Brand is included because it mainly supplies products produced by small and medium enterprises.

It cannot be used at large electronics retailers such as Hi-Mart, Samsung Digital Plaza, Electronic Land, and LG Best Shop. However, the relief fund can be used at Frisbee stores, which act as authorized sellers of Apple products. It is also usable at IKEA, a furniture store, and Chanel flagship stores that are not located inside department stores.

It cannot be used at online shopping malls like Coupang, but for delivery apps such as Baedal Minjok and Yogiyo, the relief fund can be used if you pay on-site.

Confusion has also arisen regarding the use of the relief fund at franchise stores and directly operated stores. The relief fund can be used at franchise stores, but directly operated stores can only use it in the metropolitan area where their headquarters are located. For example, major convenience stores like GS25, CU, Seven Eleven, and E-Mart24 are mostly franchises, so the relief fund can be used at almost all their stores. On the other hand, Starbucks, which operates under a direct management system, only allows use in Seoul, where its headquarters are located. However, even in Seoul, Starbucks card recharging is not possible. This is because Starbucks cards, which are prepaid and deducted when needed, are classified as gift certificates.

When using the Emergency Disaster Relief Fund via card, you can receive all the benefits of the card you use, such as point accumulation, previous month’s spending requirements, and billing discounts. For example, if you use the relief fund with a card that offers a 50% discount at Starbucks, you can enjoy an Americano priced at 4,100 KRW for 2,050 KRW.

To guide users on confusing usage locations, card companies are offering franchise store information services. Since the 12th, KB Kookmin Card has been providing a 'Disaster Relief Fund Usage Franchise Map' service on its app and mobile website based on customer location. Shinhan Card plans to offer a disaster relief fund map lookup service as early as the 18th. Samsung Card and Lotte Card currently allow searching for available franchise stores by region on their websites, and Hyundai Card, Hana Card, and BC Card (Woori Card) are preparing franchise store search services.

It has been a week since the government’s Emergency Disaster Relief Fund application started. It was a week full of controversies, including donation inducement debates, additional phone applications, and confusion over usage locations. Since half of the total applicants received the relief fund via cards, how to use it now becomes important. While the government’s role is to reduce confusion amid ongoing fairness debates about usage locations, where and how to use the relief fund according to its purpose is up to your choice.