South Korean small merchants to receive credit card fee reductions

South Korean small and micro-merchants will receive significant relief through reduced credit card transaction fees. Approximately 3.09 million merchants, representing 95.7% of all credit card affiliates, will benefit from preferential fee rates starting August 14.

Under the current regulations, merchants with annual sales of 3 billion won or less are eligible for these preferential rates. Credit card fees for these businesses will range from 0.4% to 1.45%, while check card fees will range from 0.15% to 1.15%, depending on the specific annual revenue bracket.

New businesses that opened between January 1 and June 30, 2024, and have since been identified as qualifying small or micro-merchants, will receive refunds for the difference between the standard fees paid and the preferential rates. This refund process is expected to return approximately 61.47 billion won to 159,000 credit card merchants, averaging about 387,000 won per business.

The relief also extends to 1.99 million sub-merchants using payment gateways and 166,000 taxi operators. Card companies are scheduled to deposit the refund amounts into the designated payment accounts of eligible merchants by September 28.