Direct Funeral Halls Operated by Mutual Aid Companies May Not Have Limit Increases
Card Companies Vary... Hyundai and Samsung Cards Respond Flexibly
[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] #Recently, office worker Kim Jeongha (39), who lost his father, held a funeral at a funeral hall in Gyeonggi-do. On the morning of the day of the funeral procession, he tried to pay the funeral hall fee with his Hana Card but only received a response that the limit was exceeded. He was quite surprised because he had contacted the card company's customer center the day before and raised the card limit to 15 million KRW for funeral purposes. He immediately called the customer center to inquire, but only received a reply that the limit had been properly increased, yet the payment still did not go through. Since he had to leave for the burial site, he hurriedly borrowed cash from relatives to settle the payment. It was only two days after the funeral that he received a detailed explanation from the card company, which had been giving the same answer. The email from Hana Card explained that the special limit increase applied only to registered general hospital funeral halls for funeral purposes.
According to the industry on the 30th, there are dissatisfied reactions from customers regarding the special limit increase application by some card companies. Usually, when a large sum of money is needed for purposes such as weddings, funerals, or car purchases, customers can request a special limit increase from the card company. If applied through the customer center or website, the card company conducts a review process and temporarily raises the card usage limit. Typically, the card usage limit is increased for less than three months, and the temporary limit increase service may be restricted depending on credit ratings and other factors.
The problem is cases like Mr. Kim’s, who was rejected despite using a legitimate funeral hall. Kim said, "I felt even more frustrated while still unable to compose myself after sending off the deceased," and added, "It was embarrassing that even though it was a funeral hall directly operated by a large funeral service company, it was not considered a funeral hall." Regarding this, a Hana Card official explained, "We group merchant numbers where special limits are possible into the system, and when a customer applies and makes a payment, the payment goes through. If an approval request comes under the name of a funeral service company registered as another service type, it may be rejected because it is not classified as a funeral hall."
However, other card companies respond more flexibly to funeral halls. Hyundai Card also designates funeral halls among special limit merchants. This list includes not only general hospital funeral halls but also regional funeral halls. Even if a funeral hall is not on this list, if inquired, the review team verifies whether it is indeed for funeral purposes and increases the limit accordingly. Samsung Card operates similarly. Although they designate a list of funeral halls eligible for limit increases, since there are newly established funeral halls and funeral service companies directly operated by the company, they promptly verify upon user inquiry and apply the special limit increase for funeral purposes as quickly as possible. KB Kookmin Card also operates in the same way.
There are voices within the industry calling for consistent standards and processing methods. However, since the special limit increase is a form of credit risk management, it is inevitable that each company operates differently. A card company official said, "We understand the strict adherence to merchant classification to thoroughly prevent abuse," and explained, "In areas where proof is possible, especially for wedding halls or funeral halls, we tend to respond as flexibly as possible since these are customers’ family events."
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