Cashback Service

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Korea will institute a cashback service starting in October. Debit card cashback allows consumers to get cash back as they make their purchases. The service will be provided at convenience stores first and will be expanded to large retailers next year.

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When a debit card is used to pay for a purchase at an American retailer, the shopper is usually asked by the card reader device whether they would like to use a cashback service. When a customer pays 40 dollars for a 20-dollar purchase, they can receive 20 dollars back in cash. Such services, already in wide use in the U.S. and Europe, will be made available to Korean consumers in convenience stores starting next month. The service will be offered only to debit card users and the daily cashback limit will be around 90 U.S. dollars.

[Soundbite] Kim Jae-hong(Convenience Store PR Manager) : "Customers can purchase goods and make use of a cash withdrawal service at checkout."

A fee for the cashback service will probably be set at about 80 cents. The service will be tested at select convenience stores before being expanded to large retailers starting next year.

[Soundbite] Koo Gyeong-mo(Financial Supervisory Service) : "More than half of ATMs are concentrated in major transportation hubs and downtown areas of the Seoul metropolitan area. By expanding cash withdrawal channels, consumers will have better access."

However, experts project that it will take more time for the cashback service to be offered at all stores, as some convenience stores already operating ATMs through their affiliate companies are reluctant to adopt the service.