"Refund then immediate withdrawal" ... 'Merge Point' controversy sparks in e-commerce

Timon, Wemakeprice, and Others Silent Despite Issues After Bulk Sales
If Gift Cards Purchased Are Registered in the App, They Are Considered Already Used

Amid concerns over significant losses for many affiliated individual business owners, excluding large retail corporations prepared for compensation due to the massive refund crisis of the payment platform Merge Point, the headquarters of "Merge Point" in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 18th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] "They led the Merge Point discount event at ○○, but when we asked for a refund, they tried to settle it with 4,000 points," "□□□, △△△, if we get a refund from Merge this time, we will all unsubscribe."

Regarding Merge Point, which has been embroiled in a 'meoktwi' (scam) controversy leading to a large-scale refund crisis, customers are also flooding e-commerce companies that sold it with complaints. These companies are being criticized for irresponsibly selling Merge Points competitively without proper verification and then avoiding responsibility when problems arise.

According to the e-commerce industry and the Merge Point victims' group on the 21st, Wemakeprice sold points until the 11th, when Merge Point operator (Merge Plus) announced service reduction, and 11st sold points until the previous day, the 10th. TMON and Gmarket also sold Merge Point gift certificates, annual passes, and recharge vouchers until early this month, and Lotte ON held a discount event offering up to 20% off Merge Points from the 2nd to the 8th.

Merge Point can be used at about 20,000 affiliated stores nationwide, including convenience stores, large supermarkets, and dining franchises, and it is estimated that there are about 1 million members, mainly among young people. Consumers could purchase Merge Point mobile gift certificates from e-commerce companies at a 10-20% discount and then register them on a smartphone app to use like cash.

Victims are demanding refunds, arguing that these e-commerce companies are responsible because they sold large quantities of points without even verifying whether Merge Plus was officially registered as an electronic financial business.

Victim A said, "Since well-known online shopping malls heavily promoted Merge Point with additional discounts and reward benefits, there was no reason to doubt it," adding, "From a consumer's perspective, since we trusted the sellers and bought from them, they also bear some responsibility for customer damages." Another victim B said, "(The sellers) took all the commissions from selling the gift certificates and are now pretending not to know anything when problems arise," and sharply criticized, "If Merge Point is a scam, then the shopping malls are accomplices."

E-commerce companies are cautious, stating, "In principle, responsibility for the products sold lies with the seller, and we are merely intermediaries." They also claim that once consumers register the purchased Merge gift certificates on the Merge Point app, it is considered used, making refunds or compensation difficult. However, they appear concerned about the damage to their image, loss of trust, and even customer attrition caused by the Merge Point incident.

An e-commerce official lamented, "When we first sold Merge Points, the issuance scale was small, so there was no illegality, and Merge Plus also said they were discussing the business model with financial authorities and that there was no problem, so we did not suspect anything." Another company explained, "We will refund the full purchase amount only for mobile gift certificates that have not yet been registered after purchase. However, if the gift certificate has already been registered on the app, we cannot confirm how much has been used, so refunds are impossible."