As damage spread to southern regions including South Gyeongsang due to recent heavy downpours, the credit card industry moved to provide financial support.
According to the financial sector on the 21st, eight dedicated credit card companies (Lotte, BC, Samsung, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, Hyundai, KB Kookmin) will offer up to six months of credit card payment deferrals and installment repayment services for customers affected by the heavy downpours.
For affected customers in arrears, from the time the damage is confirmed, debt collection will be suspended for up to six months and interest on arrears will be reduced. In addition, interest on short-term card loans (cash advances) and long-term card loans (card loans) used within two to three months after the damage occurred will be reduced by up to 30%.
To receive financial support, a "damage confirmation certificate" issued by an administrative authority such as a local government must be submitted to the card company.
There are also additional benefits offered by each card company. Shinhan Card expanded the support coverage to include the immediate family members of affected customers. For customers whose credit limits became insufficient due to payment deferrals, the limits will be temporarily increased.
Samsung Card(029780) will convert domestic lump-sum payments of 10,000 won or more into up to six-month interest-free installments. Card loans maturing in Oct. can be extended again.
Lotte Card will convert partitioning long-term card loans into interest-only, deferred-payment products for three months through the end of Sep. Woori Card will delete all arrears records after the damage occurred.
BC Card, together with six member institutions—IBK Industrial Bank of Korea, iM Bank, BNK Busan Bank and Gyeongnam Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Korea, and BC Baro Card—included not only affected customers but also merchants in affected areas as eligible for support. The application period runs from the 24th to the 18th of next month.
A credit card industry official said, "We plan to continue swift support so that customers affected by the heavy downpours can ease their financial burden."