"How Much Is This Gifticon Worth?"... Starbucks Gifticon Shows Amount and Remaining Balance Is Saved

Starbucks Accepts Mobile Gift Card Payment Improvement Proposal by Assemblyman Yoon Chang-hyun
Displays Amount on Gifticons... Allows Payments Below Amount and Balance Accumulation

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Office worker Park Miryang (29) recently visited Starbucks to use a Starbucks gifticon she received as a birthday present but experienced inconvenience. Park received a Grapefruit Honey Black Tea, but since she did not know its price, she had to scan the barcode at the store counter. There was another issue. Instead of the 5,700 won Grapefruit Honey Black Tea, she ordered a 4,500 won Iced Americano, but the gifticon could only be used if the order matched exactly 5,700 won or exceeded that amount. Park ultimately had to purchase a banana, which was not originally intended, to use the gifticon. She had to pay an additional 300 won for the remaining balance.

From now on, Starbucks gifticons will display their value without needing to be scanned at the store POS (Point of Sale) system. The previous problem of not being able to use the gifticon for amounts less than the designated value will also be improved, allowing usage below the gifticon amount and enabling balance accumulation.

According to Yoon Changhyun, a member of the National Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, Starbucks has agreed to implement these improvements regarding mobile gift card payments.

Yoon pointed out two main issues. The first concerns the display of the gift card amount. When receiving a Starbucks gifticon via mobile gift services like KakaoTalk Gift, the sender could see the amount, but the recipient could not. This forced customers to scan the POS system every time before use to check the amount, causing inconvenience.

The other issue relates to usage below the gift card amount. For paper gift certificates, it is generally possible to get a cash refund for the remaining balance if at least 70% of the face value is used. However, Starbucks mobile gifticons could not be used for amounts less than their value, and refunds for remaining balances were difficult, leading users to frequently purchase additional items to meet the required amount.

Starbucks reportedly sent an official letter accepting all the pointed-out issues and promising improvements. Going forward, the gift amount will be displayed on the gift image so consumers can know the value without scanning the POS. Also, even if purchasing items priced below the mobile gifticon amount, payment will be allowed as long as a certain threshold is exceeded, and a balance accumulation feature will be added.

Starbucks is currently in discussions with Kakao, the platform operator of KakaoTalk, to implement these improvements. Starbucks CEO Song Hoseop promised these measures to Assemblyman Yoon and was excluded from appearing as a witness at the Political Affairs Committee’s national audit on that day.

Assemblyman Yoon stated, “I expect Kakao to soon respond positively to Starbucks’ willingness to improve customer inconvenience,” and added, “I will continue to monitor and urge that all improvements be implemented within this year.”