Busan Expands Dongbaekjeon Local Currency Cashback to 13%... Consumers and Small Businesses Welcome the Move

Starting in September, Busan City will increase the cashback (reward refund) rate for its local currency, Dongbaekjeon, to a maximum of 13%. The city hopes this move will both boost local consumption and increase sales for small businesses.

From January to August this year, the city operated Dongbaekjeon with a monthly limit of 500,000 won and a maximum cashback rate of 7%. As a result, the issuance amount over 17 months reached 992.6 billion won, a 23.1% increase compared to the same period last year. Based on these results, the city plans to maximize the effect of stimulating consumption in the second half of the year.

This increase will maintain the "differentiated rate by sales volume" system. Small merchants with annual sales of 1 billion won or less can receive a 13% cashback benefit. Merchants with annual sales between 1 billion and 3 billion won will receive 11%. In contrast, large merchants with annual sales exceeding 3 billion won will not be eligible for cashback.

More than 90% of Busan's 175,532 affiliated merchants have annual sales of less than 1 billion won, meaning the practical benefits will be concentrated on small business owners.

The expanded Dongbaekjeon cashback will apply to all payment sectors. "Ddanggyeyo" (Busan's public food delivery app), "Dongbaek Taxi" (public taxi-hailing app), and "Dongbaek Mall" (online local product mall) will all offer the 13% benefit for two months.

This year, the total issuance of Dongbaekjeon is estimated to reach approximately 2 trillion won. The city will adjust the monthly limit back to 300,000 won in line with the increased issuance. As a result, the cashback for spending 300,000 won per month will rise from the previous 21,000 won (7%) to 39,000 won (13%). While the accumulation limit is being reduced, the refund amount will actually increase.

Park Hyungjoon, Mayor of Busan, said, "This is a key measure to ease household burdens and revitalize local commercial districts," adding, "I hope this cashback expansion will lead to increased consumption and higher sales for small businesses, thereby helping to revive the local economy."

Busan City Hall.