Korea Financial News | A Three-Way Battle of CEO Cards — Woori, Lotte, Shinhan

A three-way battle of CEO cards — Woori, Lotte, Shinhan

Woori, Shinhan lead with point accrual; Lotte leads with lifestyle-tailored discounts

Posted: 2018-04-23 00:00:00

[Korea Financial News, Reporter Jeon Ha-kyung]

〈Woori, Shinhan, and Lotte Card's CEO cards〉

Following Shinhan Card, Woori Card and Lotte Card have both launched 'CEO' cards, opening a competition among CEO-branded cards. With generous benefits and various launch promotions, these CEO cards are also creating opportunities for consumers to pursue so-called 'ca-tech' (card + investment tech).

According to the card industry, following Shinhan Card CEO Lim Young-jin's flagship card 'Deep Dream,' Woori Card has rolled out 'Card Jeongseok POINT,' personally overseen by CEO Jeong Won-jae, while Lotte Card CEO Kim Chang-gwon has unveiled the first product lineup under Lotte Card's new BI and VI, the 'I'm' series, as all three companies compete for customers.

Woori Card's 'Card Jeongseok POINT' is the first card in the 'Card Jeongseok' series, with two or three more planned for this year. Lotte Card first unveiled its 'I'm' series on the 4th and added four more cards on the 19th.

Shinhan Card's 'Deep Dream,' the first CEO card to market, has surpassed one million cards issued and continues its winning streak. Following 'Deep Dream,' Shinhan launched the gas-discount 'Deep Oil' card, continuing its 'Deep' series. As CEO cards, each carries a range of benefits, so choosing the card that matches one's spending pattern can mean smarter card use.

◇ Deep Dream — up to 3.5% in most-used category, 0.7% base, once prior-month spending is met

Shinhan Card, the first to enter the CEO-card race, has built momentum with 'Deep Dream,' a name meaning benefits with added depth. Known as CEO Lim Young-jin's flagship card, it surpassed one million units issued this past March.

Deep Dream is a point-back card with a 0.7% base accrual rate, notably higher than rival cards at launch, which drew attention. Thanks to this high rate, it reached 100,000 units in 14 business days and 300,000 in 33 days after its September 22 launch.

Deep Dream offers up to 0.7% accrual at all merchants regardless of prior-month spending or accrual caps.

An extra 0.1% is available under 'Modu Dream,' bringing the total to 0.8%.

'Modu Dream' applies an additional accrual when a Shinhan Bank settlement account is registered and the Deep Dream Visa card is used for contactless Visa payWave transactions at domestic Visa payWave merchants tied to that settlement account. The two accrual types don't stack. Modu Dream applies with no minimum spending or accrual cap.

Meeting 300,000 won in prior-month spending unlocks 'special accrual' benefits.

Special accrual applies across Shinhan Card's five designated 'DREAM' categories. The single category with the most spending that month earns 3.5% (five times the base rate), while the other four DREAM categories earn 2.1% (three times the base rate).

The five DREAM categories are: discount stores (E-mart, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, NongHyup Hanaro Mart, Lotte VIC Market, E-mart Traders), convenience stores (GS25, 7-Eleven, CU, Olive Young, Daiso), coffee/movies (coffee shops, CGV, Lotte Cinema), overseas merchants, and mobile carrier autopay. Monthly special-accrual caps are 10,000 points for 300,000 won or more in spending, 30,000 points for 600,000 won or more, and 50,000 points for 1.2 million won or more.

◇ Card Jeongseok POINT — a higher 0.8% base than Deep Dream

On the 2nd, Woori Card CEO Jeong Won-jae launched 'Card Jeongseok POINT,' the first card in a series said to embody 'the essentials of cards.'

Designed from the planning stage to comprehensively reflect big-data analysis alongside customer preferences by category and sales channel, the card was built so customers could easily and conveniently enjoy point-back benefits.

Card Jeongseok POINT offers a base accrual rate of up to 0.8% once prior-month spending reaches 300,000 won. Unlike Deep Dream, it has no accrual cap, making its effective rate higher.

Like Deep Dream's special accrual, Woori Card also adds extra benefits for frequently used categories. 'Card Jeongseok POINT' offers up to 5% back across 10 special categories customers use often: mobile carriers, public transit, and EV charging at 5%, coffee and movies at 3%, and department stores, large discount marts, online shopping, gas, and overseas spending at 1%.

Points also accrue through simple payment. Registering the card with Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, Payco, or SSG Pay and paying through them adds a further 3%, for up to 6% total accrual — plus each payment service's own point rewards, offering excellent value.

Paying through any of the four simple-payment services — Naver Pay, Payco, SSG Pay, or Kakao Pay — adds 3%, for up to 6% total. If a customer wants no minimum spending requirement even at a lower rate, Deep Dream suits them; if they can meet the spending requirement and want more points, Card Jeongseok POINT is the better fit.

It made waves as the card industry's first to feature an Oriental painting on the card plate, incorporating artist Kim Hyun Jung's work with careful attention to design.

A Woori Card representative said, "By grafting artistic design onto the card, we've transformed a rigid financial product into something more emotionally engaging, and by drawing on the artist's other playful works for 'artvertising'-style ads, we're preparing for enjoyable communication with our customers."

◇ The 'I'm' series — diverse choices tailored to customer lifestyles

While 'Deep Dream' and 'Card Jeongseok POINT' specialize in point accrual, Lotte Card broadened its choices with a diverse product lineup. Lotte Card unveiled a new 'I'm' card lineup as CEO Kim Chang-gwon's first project, following a full overhaul of the product portfolio.

The I'm cards began with 'I'm WONDERFUL,' followed by 'I'm CHEERFUL,' 'I'm HEARTFUL,' 'I'm JOYFUL,' and 'I'm GREAT.'

'I'm WONDERFUL,' under the concept 'The More The Better,' refunds 0.7% on the payment date with no prior-month spending requirement or discount cap, rising to 1.4% for single purchases of 100,000 won or more.

The four additional 'I'm' cards that followed are built around the concept of 'me' who looks after family: 'I'm HEARTFUL,' offering 10% off tutoring academies, marts, and organic shops for family-focused education and food benefits; 'I'm CHEERFUL,' under the concept of 'me who finds comfort,' with 5% off all restaurants and 30% off lunchtime coffee for office workers' weekday and weekend needs; 'I'm JOYFUL,' under the concept of 'me who enjoys life,' offering 60 won per liter off weekend gas and up to 10% off late-night dining and social commerce for solo-economy convenience; and 'I'm GREAT,' under the concept of 'me who lives wisely,' offering up to 10% off monthly bills like mobile carriers and management fees, and marts/supermarkets, for thrifty consumers' living costs.

Park Du-hwan, head of Lotte Card's marketing division, said, "The launch of the 'I'm' series declares an evolution of card-centered financial life into a customer-centered card lifestyle," adding, "we focused on the essence of 'me,' striving to create cards that reflect customers' lives as they truly are and express their diverse selves."

Lotte Card has designated this year as the founding year of a 'new Lotte Card' built together with customers and employees, declaring a strategic shift toward a people- and customer-centered approach rather than a product- and technology-centered one.

To better communicate a brand that adds real value to customers' lives, Lotte Card changed its Brand Identity (BI) for the first time in seven years, and has begun a sweeping brand renewal and stronger customer communication, overhauling its Visual Identity (VI) and product portfolio.

Lotte Card plans to launch one more new I'm card within the first half of the year, and will continue to expand and develop the I'm series by reflecting analysis of customers' core spending values and changing trends.

Reporter Jeon Ha-kyung, ceciplus7@fntimes.com

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Written by — Jeon Ha-gyeong