[Card in Crisis]②Premium Cards, PLCCs, and Stablecoins: Multi-Layered Strategies for Survival

Product Innovation Centered on High-Profit Offerings and Expanded PLCC Collaboration
Strengthening Annual Fee Revenue by Increasing Premium Card Share
Leveraging Overseas Travel Demand... Aiming for First-Mover Advantage in Stablecoins
Intensifying Competition to Develop New Businesses Vital for Industry Survival

Despite the deteriorating business environment, the credit card industry is pursuing multi-layered solutions to maintain profitability and financial soundness. These include expanding premium card offerings, strengthening partnerships for Private Label Credit Cards (PLCCs), developing products tailored to overseas travel, and securing a first-mover advantage in stablecoin-based payment services. As it has become increasingly difficult to expand their core business of credit sales, companies have determined that restructuring toward high-profit products and new business models is directly tied to their future survival.

Hana Financial Group's limited edition G-Dragon product, which began sales on the 11th of last month, is being introduced by the group's advertising model, G-Dragon. He personally participated in the design work. Hana Financial Group

Focus on Product Quality: Strengthening High-Profit Structures with Premium Cards and PLCCs

As of December 5, 2025, according to industry sources, the eight major dedicated credit card companies (Samsung, Shinhan, Hyundai, KB Kookmin, Lotte, Hana, Woori, and BC Card) are prioritizing soundness management while shifting their business strategies from expanding credit sales to focusing on profitability and margins. As a result, innovative products and premium cards have emerged as key tools for defending profitability.

In fact, the November Credit Card TOP 10 rankings by CardGorilla also showed innovative and premium products dominating the upper ranks. For example, the "Samsung iD Select" card, an innovative product that allows customers to choose their benefits every month, ranked third just three months after its launch. The Hyundai Card Amex Gold Edition 2, with an annual fee of 300,000 won, ranked eighth. Woori Card's flagship innovative product, "Card of Jeongseok Every Discount," maintained steady popularity by ranking sixth.

As the business strategy centered on premium cards spreads, annual fee revenue is also increasing. Thanks to ongoing efforts by the industry, the combined annual fee revenue of the eight major credit card companies in the second quarter reached 384.8 billion won, up 7.1% year-on-year and 22.7% higher than three years ago. The proportion of annual fees in total card revenue also rose from 6.3% in the second quarter of 2022 to 7.3% this year, indicating that a high-profit product-centered structure is taking hold.

The rate of increase varies by company, depending on the extent to which they have expanded their premium and specialized product portfolios. Excluding BC Card, over the past three years, Hana Card saw a 70.3% increase in annual fee revenue, followed by Hyundai Card at 54.1% and Lotte Card at 28.9%.

For example, Hana Card is accelerating the transition to a new profit structure by continuously expanding high-priced premium products such as the "G-Dragon Centum by Jade" with an annual fee of 1 million won, while Hyundai Card has introduced the Centurion card with an annual fee of 7 million won (2 million won for the basic card and 5 million won for the partnership card).

Strengthening PLCC competitiveness is also considered a core strategy for building a high-profit structure. As Samsung, Shinhan, and Hana Card have entered the market previously led by Hyundai Card, competition to attract brands has intensified. It is symbolic that Baedal Minjok and Starbucks have switched their partnerships from Hyundai Card to Shinhan Card and Samsung Card, respectively. Shinhan Card has collaborated with Kiwoom Securities, Coway, and Nexen Tire, while Hana Card's "MG+S, W" series, launched in partnership with MG Community Credit Cooperative, has gained popularity.

Short-Term Profits from Overseas Travel Demand: First-Mover Advantage in Stablecoins Will Determine Mid- to Long-Term Competitiveness

On the 25th, ahead of the peak summer vacation season, Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 was crowded with travelers. Incheon International Airport Corporation forecasts that about 3.91 million people will use Incheon Airport over the three weeks from late July to early August, the peak summer season. July 25, 2025. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

The increase in demand for overseas travel also represents an important short-term growth opportunity for credit card companies. Competition is intensifying for travel-specialized products such as Hana Card's "Travelog" and KB Kookmin Card's "Travelers." According to the Bank of Korea, in the third quarter, overseas card spending by domestic residents reached a record high of 5.93 billion dollars (about 873.55 billion won). Non-resident card spending in Korea also remained at a record level of 3.76 billion dollars (about 551.6 billion won). Even amid an economic slowdown, the revival of travel consumption is serving as a positive factor contributing to the recovery of short-term profitability.

For mid- to long-term new businesses, the industry is focusing on areas such as won-based stablecoin payment services, big data and AI-driven businesses including corporate information inquiry services, and expanding ancillary payment services through partnerships with tech companies. The most promising option is entering the stablecoin payment business, which can significantly reduce fees and settlement times, making it attractive for acquiring small business and self-employed customers. It is also expected to help reduce management costs for credit card companies. Furthermore, by integrating stablecoins into their own payment networks, similar to Visa and Mastercard, they can build domestic and international payment systems.

However, some organizations, including the Bank of Korea, maintain that banks should be solely responsible for issuing and handling stablecoins, which is likely to provoke considerable opposition. The credit card industry, led by the Credit Finance Association, plans to form a task force and engage in intensive discussions with financial authorities and lawmakers to establish a structure in which non-bank financial institutions can also participate in the won-based stablecoin business.

Credit card companies argue that, since they already have merchant payment networks in addition to peer-to-peer transactions, they are fully capable of handling ancillary won-based stablecoin payment services. However, some lawmakers, including Min Byungdeok of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee and members of the ruling party, are insisting that fintech companies should lead the introduction of stablecoins, which is expected to make progress difficult.

Credit Card Companies Need to Develop Their Own Big Data Businesses

On the morning of the 14th, the street near Seoul National University Hospital in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where pharmacies and restaurants are located, is quiet. Photo by Heo Younghan younghan@

Leveraging their abundant customer data to develop productive financial products is also seen as an alternative. By advancing AI systems and enhancing MyData business capabilities, credit card companies are attracting attention with new business models that provide services such as commercial district analysis, business diagnostics, and advanced credit evaluations to not only corporations but also small business owners and the self-employed. There are also calls to activate customized data-sharing services for merchants by region and sales volume.

Samsung Card and Shinhan Card are actively competing to seize these opportunities. In May last year, Samsung Card officially launched its data platform "Blue Data Lab" and is conducting research to diversify its services. In August last year, Shinhan Card launched the open data marketplace "DataBada." In March this year, it added corporate information inquiry services to its business objectives and is awaiting license approval from financial authorities.

An industry official stated, "Activating the data business for credit card companies can generate demand not only from partner companies but also from small business owners and the self-employed who struggle with commercial district analysis," adding, "The trend is to diversify and advance big data business models to find new growth paths, while avoiding excessive dependence on ancillary businesses rather than the core business of credit sales."