[Gi Ha-yeong's Lifestyle Card] Surge in 'Untact Consumption'... The Card for 'Jipkokjok'

Credit Card Companies Launch New Products Targeting Untact Consumption
One After Another

[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. 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 various 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.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has prolonged, contactless (untact) consumption culture has rapidly expanded. Card companies are competing to launch new products targeting untact consumption, increasing online benefits such as easy payments and introducing mobile-only credit cards without physical cards.

Shinhan Card launched the mobile-only card 'Shinhan Card YaY' on the 26th. It features benefits optimized for the home economy (home + economy) and untact consumption market. Notably, it introduced the industry's first 'Mariage' service that offers benefits when using real-time online video (OTT) services and food delivery services together. When using OTT services like Netflix, YouTube Premium, Watcha Play, and food delivery services like Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo, CJ Cookkit, HiFresh, 30% and 15% of the usage amount are accumulated respectively, but if both categories are used in the same month, an additional 15% is accumulated in the food delivery category, totaling 30%. It also added various service benefits targeting homebodies who enjoy leisure activities at home, such as home game rooms, home interior, and home drinking.

This card is a 100% digital product where the entire process from application to use is non-face-to-face. Taking advantage of the digital card feature, it attracted attention by introducing the world's first moving Minions GIF on the card plate.

Hana Card also launched the mobile-only 'Everyone's Shopping' card on the 19th. It is the first product leading Hana Card's digital ecosystem. It is a digital card that can be issued and used immediately via mobile, providing basic benefits of 5-10% accumulation in frequently used online and offline shopping sectors through big data analysis.

Above all, the 'Half-Price Booster Event' offered until the end of July caught consumers' attention. Apart from the basic benefits, it offers 50% accumulation of usage amounts on online shopping malls like Coupang and 11st (up to 50,000 Hana Money per month), 50% accumulation on dining sector usage during lunch hours (11 AM to 2 PM, up to 10,000 Hana Money per month), and 50% accumulation on Netflix usage over 10,000 KRW.

Hyundai Card introduced 'Hyundai Card Zero Edition 2,' an upgraded version of the steady seller 'Hyundai Card Zero' first launched in 2011. There are four types: Hyundai Card Zero Edition 2 Discount Type and Point Type, and Hyundai Card Zero Mobile Edition 2 Discount Type and Point Type.

The discount type offers a basic benefit of 0.7% discount on payment amounts, and the point type provides 1% M Point accumulation. Additionally, reflecting untact consumption culture, each card offers 1.5% discount (discount type) or 2.5% M Point accumulation (point type) in specialized areas such as seven major online easy payment services, ten major online shopping malls, and social commerce.

Woori Card plans to launch two types, 'Card's Essence Untact' and 'Card's Essence Untact Platinum,' on the 1st of next month. They feature more than 25 regular payment discounts and easy payment discount benefits simultaneously. Both products include untact special services. They fully discount the Coupang Rocket Wow membership monthly fee of 2,900 KRW and provide a 10% discount on PlayStation Plus and Apple Arcade game subscriptions.

Also, when spending over 50,000 KRW in online sectors using easy payment services like Naver Pay, Payco, and Kakao Pay, a 1,000 KRW discount per transaction is applied. Especially, when using Naver Pay, the Untact card offers 1,000 KRW discount per transaction, and the Untact Platinum card offers 3,000 KRW discount per transaction. Additionally, discounts of up to 20,000 KRW per month depending on the previous month's performance are available for Netflix, YouTube Premium, Wavve, Melon, Genie Music, as well as for living expenses, study materials, rentals, e-books, and membership sectors with a 10% discount.

Has online consumption increased and offline consumption decreased due to COVID-19? Since each card company is releasing products that strengthen new services and benefits related to untact consumption, comparing spending and issuing untact-specialized cards does not seem like a bad idea. However, it is essential to check whether issuing new cards might actually increase overall spending.