"Local Currency Sales Up 9% Year-on-Year Last Year"

BC Card Survey: Number of Customers Increases by 20%

Last year, local currency sales increased by 9% and the number of customers grew by 20% compared to the previous year. It was found that merchants accepting local currency had a survival rate approximately 18 percentage points higher than those that did not.

President Lee Jae Myung visited Yeongcheon Public Market in Yeongcheon City, Gyeongbuk Province, on May 9 during the 21st presidential election period as the Democratic Party candidate and purchased dried red peppers using the "Yeongcheon Love Gift Certificate." Photo by Yonhap News

On July 1, BC Card announced the results of its analysis of local currency sales data from 263 types of local currencies across 81 regions nationwide over the past two years.

The analysis showed that, last year, both local currency sales and the number of customers increased by 9% and 20%, respectively, compared to the previous year. In contrast, total sales including other payment methods decreased by 4%, and the number of customers declined by 1%.

BC Card Headquarters, Euljiro, Jung-gu, Seoul. BC Card

It is noteworthy that the survival rate of merchants accepting local currency was higher than that of merchants that did not. An analysis of merchant survival rates, based on those generating sales as of January 2023 and measured in six-month intervals, showed that merchants accepting local currency had a survival rate about 18 percentage points higher than merchants that did not accept local currency.

By business type, the proportion of local currency sales was as follows: restaurants (36.9%), supermarkets (17.6%), hospitals (11.5%), private academies (7.4%), and convenience stores (5.8%).

Oh Sungsoo, Executive Director at BC Card, stated, "The growth of local currency is contributing to increased sales for local small businesses and revitalizing the local economy." He added, "We will continue to leverage our data analysis capabilities to help local governments and policy agencies develop region-specific consumption strategies."