Card Companies Issue 4.64 Million PLCCs... "Concerns Over Overheated Competition"

Hyundai Card Accounts for 94% of Total
Smile Credit Card Issuance No.1 in Partnership with eBay

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As the private label credit card (PLCC) market has rapidly grown over the past two years, concerns have been raised about the need for financial authorities to conduct inspections to prevent consumer harm caused by overheated competition.

According to data received by Yoo Ui-dong, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, from the Financial Supervisory Service on the 9th, the number of PLCCs issued by specialized card companies reached 75 types and 4,641,281 cards as of the end of August this year. PLCCs are products that offer concentrated benefits and services related to specific partners, operated through exclusive contracts between one card company and one partner.

By card company, Hyundai Card issued 4.1 million PLCCs, accounting for 94% of the total. The most issued PLCC is the Smile Credit Card, a partnership between Hyundai Card and eBay, which has issued over 830,000 cards since its launch in 2018. Among the top 10 PLCCs by issuance volume, all but one were launched by Hyundai Card.

Since the first introduction of PLCCs in Korea through a partnership between Hyundai Card and E-mart in 2015, the PLCC market, led by Hyundai Card, has recently seen specialized card companies entering and competing fiercely. Newly introduced PLCCs account for 46 types (61.3%) released just last year and this year.

Rep. Yoo said, "Due to the overheating of the PLCC market, investigations into partner companies have become lax, and if partnerships expand indiscriminately, the damage will ultimately fall on consumers." He added, "It is necessary for financial authorities to periodically inspect whether proper verification of partners has been conducted before card launches and whether the market is overheating."