Starting this year, children aged 7 and older can obtain debit cards in their own name, prompting banks to compete for child and teenage customers. Banks are fueling the race to secure future customers by offering a range of benefits, from amusement park discounts to cashback and preferential interest rates.
According to the financial industry on the 31st, Hana Bank, Toss Bank, and BNK Kyongnam Bank are successively rolling out debit cards and related events targeting minors. As the eligible age for debit card issuance has expanded, competition over related products is also intensifying.
Toss Bank is running a promotion offering a 45% discount coupon on Lotte World comprehensive passes for the summer vacation. The event targets customers aged 7 to 16 who obtain their first debit card by linking the “Aitongjang” (children’s account), a product exclusively for minors, as their payment account. The strategy aims to expand child customers’ first debit card experience by targeting demand for amusement park visits during the vacation period.
Hana Financial Group unveiled the “ONE PICK Account,” an allowance management product exclusively for minors, together with the “ONE PICK Hana Debit Card.” If a customer’s debit card usage in the previous month is 50,000 won or more, a preferential interest rate of up to 1.90% per year is provided on amounts up to 500,000 won of the account’s final balance. Including the base rate of 0.1%, customers can receive a rate of up to 2.0% per year. A distinctive feature is that it is designed to naturally build financial habits by linking debit card use with savings.
BNK Kyongnam Bank also recently joined the competition by launching the “My Moment Debit Card.” The bank is running an event that provides 10,000 won in cashback to customers who obtain the card by September 30 this year and use it at least once by the end of the following month. The aim is to encourage first debit card use and expand points of contact with younger customers.
IBK Industrial Bank of Korea launched a non-face-to-face debit card featuring Pokémon characters. It comes in seven Pokémon character designs, including Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. The card offers a base discount of 0.2% on the amount used at all domestic and overseas merchants, and a special discount of 0.6% for online shopping, coffee, and public transportation. IBK explained that it launched the card to target demand from child and teenage customers.
“Teenage customers can become a target group that continues financial transactions even after they become adults,” a financial industry official said. “As summer vacation arrives, we will expand points of contact with teenagers by presenting a variety of benefits.”