South Korean credit card firms will lower their commission rates next month in an effort to ease smaller stores‘ financial burdens, a trade association said Wednesday.

The average commission rate will be lowered to 1.5 percent from the current 1.8 percent in September, benefiting some 1.8 million stores, according to the Credit Finance Association. The store figure equates to 74 percent of the 2.42 million card-accepting shops.

“The rate cut, applied ahead of the enforcement of the revised Specialized Credit Financial Business Act in December, is part of credit card firms’ efforts to coexist with subscribers,” the association said.

The revised act comes after local credit card firms have been under sharp criticism for charging far higher fees to smaller merchants than large retailers, thus pocketing excessive income, market watchers said.

Merchants with annual sales of less than 200 million won (US$170,000) or new businesses with credit card transactions of less than 150 million won up until July are qualified for the preferential rate, the association said.

Bars and jewelry shops, categorized as “entertainment and luxury,” will also benefit from the preferential rate for the first time, the credit institution added.

The measure will enable small shops to save 330 billion won annually in commissions paid to credit card companies, which also means lower profits for the local credit card firms, the association said.

“On top of the country‘s economic slowdown, the slash on the commission rate will damage overall earnings of local credit card firms in the future even further,” an official from a local credit card company said.

South Koreans’ credit card spending totaled 253.2 trillion won in the first half, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier, the association said. The figure compares with a 17.7 percent on-year jump tallied in the first six months of 2011. (Yonhap News)



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카드수수료 인하, 소상공인 한숨돌리나?


신용카드 가맹점의 수수료율이 내달부터 소폭 내린다.

여신금융협회는 29일 영세 신용카드 중소가맹점의 우대 수수료율이 다음 달부터 평균 1.8%에서 1.5% 수준으로 낮아진다고 밝혔다.

대상은 연매출 2억원 미만의 180만개 가맹점이다.

이번 조치로 미용실 등 서민생활 밀접 업종의 우대수수료율 적용이 전체의 82% 수준으로 늘게 됐다.

여신금융협회 관계자는 “이번 조치로 영세 중소가맹점은 연간 3천억원의 수수료 부담을 덜 수 있다”고 말했다.