BC Card to Launch 'Lost Ark' PLCC in Q1 Next Year

Exclusive Partnership with Smilegate RPG

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] BC Card announced on the 20th that it plans to launch a private label credit card (PLCC) specialized for the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) "Lost Ark," in partnership with Smilegate RPG, within the first quarter of next year.

While there have been cases of financial institutions partnering with the gaming industry before, this is the first time a financial product composed of benefits specialized for a specific game, along with a mid- to long-term cooperative relationship for customer experience innovation, has been established.

The newly launched Lost Ark PLCC will primarily offer discount benefits specialized for in-game payments. Lost Ark provides various items such as materials to enhance characters' combat power, items for customizing appearances, and various limited-time special effects, which add fun to gameplay and can be conveniently purchased as paid content when needed.

BC Card plans to equip the card with discount benefits that can be enjoyed in real life without any spending conditions, aiming to provide a seamless payment experience that covers both gaming and real life with a single card. The card design, utilizing representative in-game intellectual property (IP) such as the Mokoko character, is also expected to increase satisfaction among Lost Ark users.

Going forward, the two companies plan to analyze payment data accumulated through the PLCC and game data comprehensively to provide user-tailored services and collaborate to discover new business opportunities based on synergies between the two companies. They will also establish a donation fund using the PLCC business profits to promote social contribution projects together with Lost Ark users.

Park Sang-beom, Head of Card Business Division (Executive Director) at BC Card, said, "Through this collaboration, we will provide differentiated payment services to Lost Ark users, who are loved across generations. We hope Lost Ark users experience uninterrupted benefits between virtual space and reality with just one card."