Timef Scandal Freezes Gift Cards... Starbucks, KFC, and Others Suspend Mobile Coupon Sales

Corporate Mobile Coupon Bulk Sending Service
Food Franchise Chains Successively Suspend Sales

Jo (33), who runs a startup, is facing setbacks in his business due to the suspension of 'Giftishow Biz' sales. Jo complained, "I am building a system where customers can exchange Starbucks Gifticons, but it was suddenly stopped, which is very frustrating," adding, "How can this happen without any prior notice?"

Due to delayed settlements involving Wemakeprice and Tmon, subsidiaries of the Singapore-based e-commerce platform Qoo10, dining franchise companies have halted sales of Giftishow Biz. There are concerns that if a 'second Tmep incident' occurs, it could severely damage brand image and trust.

'Giftee Show Biz' Notice Capture.

According to the industry on the 1st, Giftishow Biz announced the day before that it would suspend sales of all Starbucks products. The notice stated, "Please be informed that sales are suspended at the request of the supplier," and "Additional announcements will be made when sales resume." It also explained, "Domino's Pizza, KFC, Bondo Lunchbox, Bonjuk, Bonjuk & Bibimbap, and Subway also received requests to suspend product sales due to circumstances of the coupon issuing companies supplying products from these brands," and added, "Sales were immediately suspended to protect Giftishow customers."

Giftishow Biz is a corporate mobile coupon bulk issuance service operated by KT Alpha. It sells Starbucks Iced Americano (tall size) at a 15% discount for 3,820 KRW and Cafe Latte (tall size) at a 12% discount for 4,400 KRW. A KT Alpha official said, "Due to the Qoo10 issue, sales were suspended at the request of the relevant parties."

In fact, anxiety over discounted gift certificate sales is increasing in the distribution industry. An industry insider explained regarding the suspension of Giftishow Biz sales, "This was a preemptive request to suspend the sale of physical gift certificates as a risk management measure."

Previously, the refund and settlement delay incident involving Wemakeprice and Tmon began when Wemakeprice failed to settle payments to sellers on time on the 7th. They have operated by using funds from monthly transactions to settle payments for sales made two months prior.

In particular, various gift certificates were sold at discounted prices through a pre-order and later usage method. Happy Money gift certificates worth 50,000 KRW were sold for 46,250 KRW, and Cultureland gift certificates worth 50,000 KRW were sold for 46,400 KRW. The distribution industry views that Wemakeprice and Tmon actively discounted Tmon Cash and gift certificates to raise cash.