Kakao Sets 8% Fee Cap on Mobile Gift Cards, Expands Settlements.

Seoul, South Korea - Kakao announced that it will implement an 8% fee cap on mobile gift certificates and introduce preferential fee reductions for franchisees as part of new partnership measures.

Kakao will offer franchisees additional fee reductions of 0.5% to 1.0%, directly allocating all benefits to store owners. Subject to market condition reviews, the company plans to implement these measures for an initial three-year period.

The company will also increase the settlement frequency for KakaoTalk Gift mobile certificates from four to ten times per month, with implementation scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.

In April, a public-private partnership committee was established to develop the measures. Over approximately nine months, the committee held five general and working meetings. 

It included representatives of Kakao, mobile gift certificate distributors and issuers, the Korea Online Shopping Association, the National Franchise Owner Association, and the Korea Consumer Organization.

Government participants included officials from the Fair Trade Commission, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Financial Services Commission. 

The announcement was made at the LW Convention Center in Seoul, where representatives from six distribution and issuance companies, including Kakao, 11st, KT Alpha, Coup Marketing, Secta Nine, and Zeulgeoun, were present.