A public-private consultative body has been launched to establish a reasonable win-win model in the mobile gift certificate market.
On the 17th, the Fair Trade Commission announced that it held the launch ceremony of the mobile gift certificate public-private consultative body at the LW Convention in Jung-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by various stakeholders from fields including mobile gift certificate distribution and issuance businesses such as Kakao, the Korea Online Shopping Association, the National Franchisee Association, the Korea Consumer Agency, and the Fair Trade Commission.
The mobile gift certificate market is rapidly growing due to advancements in digital technology and the expansion of non-face-to-face transactions. However, concerns have been consistently raised that small business owners bear a heavier burden due to higher fees compared to other payment methods and long settlement cycles.
The average fee for mobile gift certificates ranges from 5% to 10%, and the settlement cycle can be up to 45 days, which places a burden on small business owners handling mobile gift certificates.
Regarding the refund policy where only 90% of the purchase amount is refunded after the mobile gift certificate’s validity period expires and 10% is borne by consumers as a refund fee, many opinions have been raised that improvements are necessary.
Through the newly launched public-private consultative body, the Fair Trade Commission plans to comprehensively discuss various issues arising in the mobile gift certificate market from a win-win perspective. Since the government is directly participating as a member, it plans to take the lead in mediating discussions to derive effective win-win measures.
Yook Seong-kwon, Secretary General of the Fair Trade Commission, stated, "As the proportion of mobile gift certificates is rapidly increasing, it is necessary to establish a transparent and fair trading order," and added, "We will actively support sound dialogue within the public-private consultative body."
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