Rising Thrift Trend Returns as High Inflation Cuts Deposit Interest Rates [Practical Finance]

Popular Pet and Plant Care Apps
Quiz and Safe Driving Challenge-Type Frugal Tech Also Gaining Popularity
Motivation Boosted by Sharing No-Spending Challenges on SNS

Ms. Shin In-ya, a woman in her 20s working in an office, has recently taken up the hobby of browsing financial company applications during her commute. She feeds her virtual pet in the banking app and participates in walking missions by opening the insurance app. With just a few taps, she can earn Starbucks coffee coupons or cash-equivalent points. Occasionally, she challenges herself with no-spending challenges hosted on fintech apps to reduce expenses and earn rewards.

The virtual dog you raise in the app... brings you money

As high inflation continues and bank deposit interest rates keep falling, "jjantech" (a portmanteau of "jjada" meaning frugal and "jaetech" meaning financial technology), which involves saving small amounts of money through frugality or mission completion, is gaining attention. The MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) shares their own thrifty jjantech tips on social networking services (SNS), feeling a sense of accomplishment and motivation.

In the banking sector, 'raising 00' jjantech, which combines nurturing simulation games with marketing, is the trend. Last month, Woori Bank introduced 'Bark&Bank,' an attendance and mission reward service on the Woori WON Banking app where users raise a virtual pet character and receive prizes. By completing missions and using items like food and playthings to raise the pet to the final growth stage (stage 5), users can receive gifts such as coffee or hamburgers of their choice.

K Bank's 'Money Tree Raising,' launched in April, is also a popular service among jjantech enthusiasts. The goal is to raise a money tree to the final growth stage (stage 7) by completing various daily missions such as temperature management, watering, and fertilizing through the K Bank app. Successful missions reward users with cash prizes ranging from 100 won to up to 100,000 won. It is possible to grow and harvest the money tree in as little as three days. The service gained popularity quickly, with 600,000 users growing 270,000 trees within three weeks of launch.

Saving small change to build a mountain... digital jjantech enthusiasts collecting scraps

Services that reward users with cash-equivalent points for completing specific missions such as watching ads or solving quizzes on mobile apps are also popular. Unlike nurturing games that require relatively long-term app visits, these allow instant side income generation with less burden.

The walking app Cashwalk not only accumulates points by walking but also offers a popular 'Money-Making Quiz' where users answer questions about specific companies during certain time slots. Cash rewards range from a few dozen won to tens of thousands of won for lucky winners. There are even media outlets that report the quiz answers hourly, similar to lottery winning numbers.

There is also an app that rewards safe driving with money. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance's 'Direct Chac' offers the 'Chac! Good Drive' service, which can be used by anyone, even if they are not policyholders. By turning on the app while driving and connecting the phone to the vehicle via Bluetooth, users earn points based on driving distance and safe driving scores. Up to 5,000 points can be accumulated monthly. It has gained a reputation as a frugal app that helps long-distance drivers save on tollgate fees.

Fintech apps that reduce spending and accumulate points

With rising prices worsening personal finances, 'spending management challenges' are also active. Toss's 'No-Spending Challenge' is a service based on MyData (personal credit information management) that checks card usage for one day and rewards points the next day if no spending is detected. Additional points are given for successfully completing a no-spending streak of one week, and users can use a 'rollback' feature if they fail on a day. This challenge is a beta service temporarily offered to some users aged 19 and older, launched in April.

If no-spending is too burdensome, users can try spending management with BankSalad's 'Salad Game.' Over five days, five team members spend within a set budget and receive back the amount they spent as prize money. Players start with a budget of 250,000 won and can increase it up to 540,000 won through various missions such as 'No Coffee Drinking' or 'No Delivery/Taxi Use.' In the first Salad Game held from June 24 to 28, out of 5,000 participants (1,000 teams), 1,460 people (320 teams) succeeded, saving an average of about 140,000 won compared to the previous week.

The mobile payment (pay) industry has been launching services that accumulate points equivalent to cash with every purchase to ease users' spending burdens. Naver Pay offers a 'Point Draw' benefit up to three times per transaction at offline merchants. Considering up to 50 draws per month, users can draw up to 150 times. If subscribed to Naver Plus Membership, Naver Pay Money Hana Account, or Mirae Asset Securities CMA-RP Naver Account, points are accumulated 2 to 4 times more. Points can be drawn from a minimum of 1 won up to a maximum of 20,000 won.

Kakao Pay provides the 'Cafe Payback' benefit, which accumulates up to 3% of the payment amount as points. When paying at offline stores via Kakao Pay, 0.5% of the payment amount is accumulated as points. If the user meets the previous month's payment performance, the accumulation rate increases to 2%, and at the user's most frequently used 'favorite store' from the previous month, 3% of the payment amount is accumulated. To meet the Cafe Payback previous month performance condition, users must make at least 12 payments of 3,000 won or more via Kakao Pay.