- People can now buy up to KRW 1 million in Gift Cards (previously limited to KRW 300,000) and still benefit from a higher cashback offer of 7~10% -

- More offers coming in September (Chuseok), and up to 15% payout for purchases at local produce markets in October -

Incheon is temporarily raising the ceiling on transactions and cashback offer when using the Incheon Sarang Gift Card this May as the City gears up to stimulate spending throughout Family Month (May every year) and the 2023 K-Sale Festival*.

*”2023 K-Sale Festival (Hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups): Hosted nationwide three times a year (May, September, December) on/offline to stimulate spending, a festival featuring a variety of large and small shopping platforms to boost sales for SMEs and small businesses

Incheon Metropolitan City (Mayor: Yoo Jeong-bok) announced that the City is easing restrictions on the Incheon Sarang Gift Card (people can buy up to KRW 1 million for the month of May), and also raising the cashback offer to 7~10% depending on merchant sales throughout the month.

With households struggling from a combination of high prices, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, this new offer is expected to encourage families to spend more, which will help improve sales for small businesses that make up an essential part of local communities. Ultimately, the goal is to stimulate the economy across Incheon and alleviate the pressure on people’s wallets.

As a result, in May, the purchase limit for the Incheon Sarang Gift Card and cashback offer will go from KRW 300,000 to KRW 1 million. Moreover, the cashback rate will also go from 5% to 7% for merchants with annual sales north of KRW 300 million, and 10% for merchants with annual sales of up to KRW 300 million. For example, in May, if you spend KRW 1,000,000 using an Incheon Sarang Gift Card at a store with annual sales of KRW 300 million or less, you can get KRW 100,000 back as part of the City’s cashback program.

Incheon plans to begin a “Family Love Event” that temporarily expands the cashback benefits attached to Incheon Sarang Gift Cards in September during the Chuseok holidays. In addition, if you use the Incheon Sarang Gift Card at merchants participating in the “Incheon Market for ‘Agricultural and Marine Products” in October this year, you can expect up to 15% in cash paid back to you on purchases up to KRW 300,000 using the Gift Card.

As of April, the Incheon Sarang Gift Card has 2.39 million subscribers, which is 143% of the total workforce in Incheon (1.67 million). Last year, consumers bought roughly KRW 4 trillion in Incheon Sarang Gift Cards, and spent KRW 4.6 trillion.

Meanwhile, the City raised the cashback rate applied to e-EUM taxi payments from 5% to 10%. The e-EUM taxi is Incheon's public taxi platform created to counter the monopoly over taxi-hailing platforms held by large corporations. This has helped locals enjoy taxis at a much lower fare.

Cho In-kwon, Head of Incheon’s Economy and Industry Headquarters, said, “The prices experienced by our citizens are quite due in large part to the recession combined with high prices, high interest rates, and high exchange rates.” He added, “We will do our best to help ease the burden on working-class families, and give small businesses a chance to get past this crisis by offering more benefits using our Incheon Sarang Gift Card service, which is already immensely popular among local consumers.”