Daily Han Kook | [Card Life Guide/Design] From Pengsoo to Artistry… Cards That Scratch Your ‘Desire to Own’

[Daily Han Kook, Reporter Choi Sung-soo] Annual credit card approval amounts have surpassed 850 trillion won. A simple calculation based on Korea's population shows that each citizen swiped roughly 17 million won worth of cards annually. As the card payment market grows this large, card companies are also rolling out cards with various benefits to capture customers. Consumers find it difficult to figure out which card suits them best. Daily Han Kook presents the 'Card Life Guide,' helping consumers wisely choose the right card amid the flood of options. <Editor's Note>

Consumers' standards for cards are rising. Consumers no longer use cards simply to make payments and receive benefits. They also care about the image a card itself conveys. If there is little difference in benefits, consumers choose a card with a "pretty design." The meaning of a card, once simply perceived as a "means of payment," is expanding into a "means of possession" and even a "means of fashion."

In step with this trend, card companies are also launching cards featuring popular characters and artworks.

According to the card industry on the 19th, companies have been rolling out services such as cards featuring popular characters, artworks, celebrities, and even cards customers can design themselves.

◇From Pengsoo to Ryan... Character Debit Cards

The "KB Kookmin Pengsoo Nori Debit Card," launched by KB Kookmin Card on the 17th, incorporates the "Pengsoo" character into the "Nori Debit Card."

Pengsoo is an EBS character operating the EBS YouTube channel "Self-Respecting Penguin TV," beloved by the entire nation.

This card was released in two designs: a "Peng Card" version featuring Pengsoo's signature greeting pose "Penghai (Pengsoo Hi)," and a "Peng-moticon" version featuring nine of Pengsoo's images in emoticon form.

The card is available for limited sale until February 16 next year. Within a monthly combined discount cap of up to 50,000 won based on the previous month's usage, the card offers benefits such as 10% off public transportation, 35% off CGV, 20% off Starbucks, 50% off Lotte World and Everland, 5% off GS25, and a 2,500-won phone bill discount.

Shinhan Card, together with Kakao Pay, launched the "Kakao Pay Shinhan Debit Card (Muzi & Con)" on the 10th, applying Kakao Friends' "Muzi" and "Con" characters to the card plate design.

This debit card is a redesigned version of the Kakao Pay Shinhan Debit Card (Muzi) launched in July last year.

When registered with Kakao Pay and used for payment, this card accrues 2% of the payment amount as Kakao Pay Money, up to 10,000 won a month, regardless of the previous month's spending. It also offers accrual on transportation, telecom, and movie services: 3% on public transportation (bus, subway), 3% when telecom bill auto-payment is 50,000 won or more, and up to 3,000 won once a month for CGV movies.

NH Nonghyup Card launched the "Ryan Cheese Debit Card," featuring the Kakao Friends "Ryan character," last November.

The Ryan Cheese Debit Card was born from a collaboration between NH Nonghyup Card and Kakao Friends, depicting Ryan, Kakao Friends' representative character, working at a cheese farm.

NH Nonghyup Card explained, "We developed the 'Farmer Ryan' story at the cheese farm, building on the existing story of Ryan enjoying cheese balls, and applied it to the card design."

This debit card is linked to "Ryan Cheese Ball Adventure" at Namsan, Kakao Friends' first urban VR adventure park, offering benefits such as 30% off admission tickets and 10% instant discount on the MD shop and snacks when paying with the card, along with ongoing benefits for using the adventure park.

Also, using the card at major everyday convenience categories such as coffee shops, convenience stores, movies, online shopping, and delivery apps earns 0.5–1.0% accrual. If the previous month's spending requirement is met, 0.5% is earned on weekdays and 1.0% on weekends. For categories such as Socar, public transportation, KTX and other transportation, overseas one-time payments, self-development such as language tests and yoga, bookstores, performances/exhibitions, and H&B stores, 1.5% of the amount is accrued as NH Points. For YouTube, Netflix, and paid app payments, 5% is accrued.

◇Putting Art on Cards... Cards Featuring Artwork

Since 2012, Shinhan Card has offered the "Gallery S" service, which designs cards using artwork chosen by the customer from among participating artists. Customers directly select an image from various artists' artworks to have printed on the card plate.

There are currently 18 pattern collections, or design images, to choose from, consisting of 6 works by visual artist "275c," 6 works by graphic designer Ham Young-hoon, and 6 works by illustrator Siwoo.

The chosen pattern collection can be applied to a total of four card types: "Hi-point," "S-Choice," "23.5°," and "S-Line."

The Hi-point card earns up to 2% points, and up to 5% at frequently visited merchants. The S-Choice card lets customers choose between transportation-discount, coffee-discount, or shopping-discount types. The transportation-discount type offers 10% off public transportation, the coffee-discount type offers 20% off all coffee shops, and the shopping-discount type offers 10% off at four major department stores and three major discount stores.

"23.5°" is a card for early-career professionals, offering benefits such as a 200-won daily discount on bus and subway fares and 1% MySinhan Point accrual on spending at everyday-friendly merchants. The S-Line debit card is part of the Code9 series, offering discounts, point accrual, and Shinhan Financial Group preferential services all in one card.

Woori Card features Korean painter Kim Hyun Jung's artwork on its flagship product, the "Card of the Essentials" series. This card was the first credit card to bring Korean colors and motifs to a card's exterior, earning favorable reviews from consumers.

For instance, the "Card of the Essentials WOWRI" applied artist Kim Hyun Jung's design, incorporating the diverse hues of the traditional five cardinal colors (obangsaek).

This card also paid attention to fine details. The "Card of the Essentials" series improved usability with a "ㄱ"-shaped notch at the top right of the card plate, applied different coloring to part of the surface, and arranged the product name vertically.

Meanwhile, the Card of the Essentials series currently consists of 21 credit card types and 10 debit card types.

◇From Sports Team Logos to Celebrities... Fan-Appeal Design Cards

Lotte Card launched a limited-edition design card in collaboration with Major League Baseball (MLB) last October.

The "LIKIT X MLB Special Edition," featuring MLB team emblems and uniform imagery, consists of four credit card types and two debit card types.

This card is a limited edition available only through this month. Its benefits are the same as the existing "LIKIT" series.

Cases of celebrities appearing on cards are also increasing. In 2018, Kookmin Bank collaborated with the popular group "BTS" to release the "KB Kookmin BTS Debit Card." The front of this card features images of BTS members.

This card accrues a basic 0.2% on domestic merchant spending with no previous-month spending requirement or accrual cap, and if the previous month's spending is 300,000 won or more, an additional 0.3%–0.8% is accrued on coffee, bakery, ice cream, movie theater categories, telecom bill auto-payment, public transportation, and other usage.

Cards featuring dog influencers have also been launched. Finnq's "Jeolmi Card," released in April last year in partnership with Hana Card, features Injeolmi, a popular online star dog.

"Injeolmi" is a popular dog with 1 million followers on social media (SNS). The Jeolmi Card consists of two versions with different background colors featuring a smiling Injeolmi: "Sky Jeolmi" and "Pink Jeolmi."

Finnq customers aged 18 or older can still apply for the Jeolmi Card via mobile with no annual fee.

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Written by — Reporter Choi Seong-su