Gyeonggi-do Sees Surge in Top-Ups Following Temporary 25% Incentive for Local Currency

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] As Gyeonggi Province decided to provide 'consumption support funds' (limited edition local currency) to boost the Chuseok economy, the amount recharged on Gyeonggi Province's local currency has been found to have more than doubled compared to usual.

The province expects that, considering the high turnover rate characteristic of local currency, this consumption support fund will greatly help activate the Chuseok economy as originally planned.

According to Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Market and Commercial Promotion Agency on the 25th, from the 18th to the 23rd of this month, when the consumption support fund payment criteria began, the amount recharged on Gyeonggi local currency was 98.4 billion KRW, averaging 16.4 billion KRW per day.

This corresponds to 2.4 times the average daily recharge amount of 6.7 billion KRW for general issuance of Gyeonggi local currency from June to August (excluding policy issuance such as disaster basic income).

General issuance refers to users recharging and using local currency with their own money.

Jo Jang-seok, head of the Small Business Division of the province, analyzed, "The increase in general issuance recharge means that more people voluntarily purchased local currency, which implies that money will circulate quickly within the local economy such as small business owners and neighborhood markets. Since this is a voluntary purchase, there is also a high possibility that these users will become loyal customers who recharge and use local currency again."

Meanwhile, from the 9th, when Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung announced the consumption support fund plan, to the 23rd, a total of 175,156 new registrations were recorded over 15 days, averaging 11,677 registrations per day. Compared to the average daily application number of 5,949 over the three months from June to August, this is more than double.

Also, from the 18th to the 23rd, the period when the consumption support fund payment criteria apply, the usage amount of Gyeonggi local currency was 77.7 billion KRW, averaging 12.9 billion KRW per day. This is more than twice the average daily usage amount of 6.3 billion KRW from June to August.

The consumption support fund provides an additional support amount equivalent to 15% on top of the existing 10% incentive when recharging 200,000 KRW. To receive the consumption support fund benefit, at least 200,000 KRW must be spent based on usage after the 18th of this month by November 17 at the latest. The province has secured a budget of 100 billion KRW for this purpose.