[2021 National Audit] Dormant Card Points Total 2 Trillion Won... 100 Billion Disappear Annually

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] It has been revealed that unused card points sleeping dormant amount to 2 trillion won. Points that expire and disappear each year reach 100 billion won.

On the 22nd, according to the 'Status of Points from Full-Service Card Companies' data submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Kim Byung-wook, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Gyeonggi Seongnam-si Bundang-gu Eul, re-elected), the balance of dormant points reaches approximately 2 trillion won.

On the other hand, points converted to cash average about 70 billion won per month. Although 500 billion points were converted to cash in the first half of this year, the point balance remains close to 2 trillion won and continues to increase monthly.

Points, a traditional marketing tool of card companies, have very low utilization compared to the annual accumulation amount of 3 trillion won. The accumulated points have been increasing annually since 2017, rising from 2.6 trillion won in 2017 to over 3 trillion won in 2019, with 1.6 trillion won accumulated by June this year.

Card points are scattered across various card companies, and if consumers do not pay attention, they often expire and disappear. Points have a five-year expiration period.

There are various ways to use points. Besides cash conversion, points can be used for card payment, donations, ATM withdrawals, and even investments in stocks. However, it is pointed out that many people still do not know where or how to use their points.

Looking at the first half performance by card company, Shinhan Card led with 170 billion won in cash conversion, followed by Hyundai Card with 71.4 billion won, Woori Card with 63.3 billion won, KB Kookmin Card with 61.8 billion won, Samsung Card with 46.7 billion won, Lotte Card with 44.8 billion won, Hana Card with 42.5 billion won, and BC Card with 13.2 billion won. A total of 520 billion points were converted to cash.

Regarding point balances, out of the total 1.9787 trillion won, Hyundai Card had the largest balance with 588.8 billion won, followed by Shinhan Card with 398.3 billion won, Hana Card with 256.7 billion won, KB Kookmin Card with 248.9 billion won, Samsung Card with 228.9 billion won, Woori Card with 127.1 billion won, Lotte Card with 65.6 billion won, and BC Card with 64.1 billion won.

Assemblyman Kim Byung-wook stated, "The start of financial management is to manage small amounts of money well, but surprisingly, many people are indifferent to points that steadily accumulate. The 2 trillion won in dormant card points should find their rightful owners before they expire."