Donga Ilbo Feb. 23, 2007
There are reports of widespread discontent over the way credit card issuers charge merchants commission fees. South Korea’s financial regulatory body has begun to investigate the issue.
“We commissioned the Korea Institute of Finance to find out what costs credit card issuers face. We are going to assess whether each card issuer charges fair commissions to merchants. Then we will propose a standard for card issuers to levy a commission,” said an official from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on February 22.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy will use the standard to persuade card issuers to lower excessive commission fees.
It remains to be seen if card issuers cut their commission charges in line with the FSS, however.
Merchants pay an average of 2.2 percent of total card transactions as commission to non-bank card issuers. That figure rises to 2.37 percent when they pay bank card issuers.
The commission rate varies between 1.5 percent-4.5 percent depending on the card issuer and the merchant. Small and medium-sized companies and self-employed workers end up paying more commissions than golf clubs or general hospitals as they lack bargaining power with card issuers. And they have expressed discontent over the issue.
Because of this, the Korean Federation of Small and Medium Business created a committee named ‘A Committee for Lowering Credit Card Commissions` to work on cutting those commissions by 1-2 percent points.
_____
[email protected]
Similar Posts:
- Credit Rating Agencies in Korea: Due Diligence of Your Supplier, Franchisee, Joint Venture Partner & Distributors
- Korean Act on Special Cases Concerning the Establishment and Operation of Internet Banks
- Will the Korean Government Kill Bitcoin? The legality of Bitcoin in Korea
- Korea prepares itself for Big Data-driven 4th Industrial Revolution: Korean Data Protection Laws Revised
- Restructuring of Korean SMEs a Potential Lucrative Business in Korea
- Future of Bitcoin in Korea according to FTC: Korean Cryptocurrency Updates
- New Provisions regarding the Korean Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information
- “Samsung’s First Family Struggles to Keep Grip on Company” Report by Bloomberg
- Korea’s Virtual Assets/Cryptocurrency Law
- Korea’s Real Name Transaction Act Strengthened: Korea’s Banking Law Basics
You must log in to post a comment.