BC Card Receives 'Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award' at 60th Inventors' Day... First in Financial Sector

BC Card Receives Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award
for Leading the Advancement of Card Payment Infrastructure
and New Payment Services Over 40 Years

BC Card announced on the 20th that it received the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award at the 60th Inventors' Day commemorative event, held on the 19th at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. This marks the first time a financial institution has received this honor.

Inventors' Day is a legal commemorative day designated by the government in 1957 to highlight the importance of invention in national technological advancement. Each year, on Inventors' Day, a commemorative event is held to recognize individuals who have contributed to technological development, hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and organized by the Korea Invention Promotion Association. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the event.

At the '60th Inventors' Day' commemorative event held on the 19th at COEX Magok in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Choi Wonseok, CEO of BC Card, is taking a commemorative photo. BC Card

As a company specializing in payment processing, BC Card has led the advancement of domestic card payment infrastructure, the popularization of new payment services, and the development of foundational technologies to enhance consumer convenience through differentiated financial services for daily life over the past 40 years.

According to KIPRIS (Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service), BC Card had registered a cumulative total of 123 patents in Korea as of last month, the highest number not only among card companies but also across the entire secondary financial sector. From 2020 to last year, the registration rate for patent applications reached 94%, demonstrating the high quality of its patents.

Recently, the company explained that it has been actively contributing to national technological advancement and improving financial consumer convenience by securing patents that combine cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain. Notable examples include a service that uses AI to recommend the most beneficial card product at the time of payment among those owned by the user, and a technology that issues NFT-based digital receipts for card payments on metaverse platforms.

BC Card is also expanding the technological competitiveness of 'K-Finance' globally, having filed and registered a cumulative total of 58 patents in major Asian countries such as China, Vietnam, and India. The company attributes its abundant patent resources to a long-established, stable in-house intellectual property infrastructure and a management philosophy centered on technology.

In 2016, BC Card became the first in the industry to hire an in-house patent attorney, thereby securing expertise in company-wide patent strategy, quality management, and integrated technology development necessary for intellectual property creation. Through its in-house Intellectual Property Review Committee and patent reward program, BC Card actively encourages employees to turn their ideas into patents. The company has also built its own intellectual property management system, 'EDISON,' to efficiently manage and systematically protect various intellectual property rights.

President Choi Wonseok is also practicing technology-driven management, having personally filed two patents for new payment services utilizing blockchain technologies such as NFTs. Since he took office in April 2021, a cumulative total of 44 patents have been filed as of last month.

President Choi stated, "It is a great honor and a meaningful achievement for BC Card to be selected as the first financial institution to receive the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Award on the 60th Inventors' Day," adding, "We will continue to take the lead in strengthening the nation's technological competitiveness and enhancing financial consumer convenience through ongoing creation of intellectual property."

Meanwhile, BC Card has solidified its differentiated technological capabilities and exemplary service in the payment sector, having received the Presidential Award at the 14th Anti-Money Laundering Day in 2020 and the Chairman's Award from the Financial Services Commission at the 7th Financial Day in 2022.