News that Saemaul Geumgo's credit card, which has been drawing strong support mainly from Millennials and Gen Z (born in the 1980s–2010s), will soon be discontinued prompted nearly 10,000 applications nationwide in just one day. As word spread through moms' forums and finance communities, a mood of "even if you don't use it right away, get it issued for now" is taking hold.
According to Saemaul Geumgo on the 16th, new applications for the "MG+S Hana Card" have been surging recently at Saemaul Geumgo branches nationwide. In the first week after the product launched, 19,000 applications were received, and as applications climbed sharply thereafter, new applications reached an average of 20,000 per week. In particular, in the first week of Oct., when news of its discontinuation became known, there were 46,000 applications in that week alone, and on the first day of the final application week, 13th, about 7,000 new applications were filed in a single day. New sign-ups for this card will stop on the 17th.
The MG+S card is the fourth private-label credit card (PLCC) product introduced after the Saemaul Geumgo Federation and Hana Card signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a credit card launch in Jul. last year. It was rolled out targeting a wide range of consumers from basic to premium cards, and word spread that the actual benefits—such as for simple payments and subscriptions to online video services (OTT)—make it efficient to use across all age groups.
In particular, there is both internal and external assessment that the card played a major role in shedding MG Saemaul Geumgo's image as a service primarily used by middle-aged and older adults. Because applicants must visit a Saemaul Geumgo branch to get the card issued, they end up looking up a credit union they may not have known, and naturally open an account for the card issuance.
As of the 13th, the number of applications for this card was about 183,000, with 162,000 cards issued. On a business-day basis, an average of a little over 3,000 people applied per day and 2,700 cards were issued. Initially, online applications were accepted to activate the Saemaul Geumgo application (app), but as applications surged, the process was switched to in-person counter applications at branches. However, despite nationwide interest, Saemaul Geumgo said it is discontinuing the product after three months because it reached the sales cap planned at launch.
In particular, when news spreads that a card rumored to be a "value-packed card" with many benefits is being discontinued, many people go for no-questions-asked issuance. This card, too, is enjoying the same effect as the discontinuation news spreads quickly through finance consumer communities. Previously in 2020, when news spread that Shinhan Card's "The More Card," which gives the spare change under 1,000 won as points for payments of 5,000 won or more, was being discontinued, even existing card users deliberately had the card reissued to extend its expiration date.