Card issuers lifted the hold on payments to merchants following Homeplus Co.'s resumption of operations.
According to the financial industry on the 17th, card companies decided to lift the payment hold around the 13th, when Homeplus Co. officially reopened. The industry had partially withheld payments after Homeplus Co. halted operations at its stores nationwide in mid-last month to prepare for potential refund issues.
Under the current system, when a customer pays, the card company first pays the merchant, and the customer then pays the card company on the designated due date. If a payment is canceled, the card company first processes the refund to the customer and then must recover the amount from the merchant.
Homeplus Co.'s sales on the first day of reopening, the 13th, came to 10.628 billion won, up 1.2% from a year earlier. The number of customers at offline stores rose 15% from a year earlier based on 67 locations.
However, it is known that some payments remain on hold after a supplier that has not been settled by Homeplus Co. filed for a provisional attachment of certain settlement receivables from card companies. Under the current merchant terms, when a card company is served with a provisional attachment or attachment order for credit sales proceeds pursuant to the Civil Execution Act and other relevant laws, it may withhold or deposit the payment of credit sales proceeds.
However, authorities are said to have tentatively concluded that the supplier in question is a small to mid-sized firm and that the amount under provisional attachment is not large. It is not at a level likely to significantly affect Homeplus Co.'s operations.