Incheon e-Eum Card Cashback Reduced from 10% to 5%... Payment Limit Set at 300,000 Won

Incheon e-eum Card [Provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] Starting next month, the cashback rate for Incheon local currency 'Incheon e-eum' will be drastically reduced from the current 10% to 5%.

On the 28th, Incheon City announced that it reported to the Incheon Mayor's Transition Committee of the 8th local government the plan to temporarily lower the cashback rate and support limit for the e-eum card.

The city decided to change the Incheon e-eum cashback, which is currently paid at 10% up to a monthly payment limit of 500,000 KRW, to 5% up to a monthly payment limit of 300,000 KRW starting from the 1st of next month.

As a result, the cashback amount that can be received for a monthly payment of 500,000 KRW will decrease from the current 50,000 KRW to 15,000 KRW.

Incheon City has maintained the e-eum card cashback rate at 10% (up to 500,000 KRW monthly payment) since March 2020, when it was raised from 4%, to boost sales for small business owners and self-employed individuals and to stimulate local consumption.

However, after distributing COVID-19 recovery support funds through Incheon e-eum, the number of subscribers increased significantly from 1.67 million to 2.28 million, and the payment amount rose from 4.1556 trillion KRW last year to 2.435 trillion KRW as of the 5th of this year, while the scale of national government support has been reduced. As a result, the cashback budget of 242.7 billion KRW for this year has almost been exhausted.

The city explained that this temporary adjustment is unavoidable to maintain cashback support until comprehensive system improvements for Incheon e-eum are prepared.

An official from Incheon City stated, "After September, considering the central government's local currency support trends and Incheon City's financial conditions, we will prepare a sustainable plan for Incheon e-eum. In line with the purpose of introducing Incheon e-eum, we will review measures to zero out payment fees for small merchants and provide higher cashback benefits within traditional markets and neighborhood commercial districts."