Monetary promotions associated to the nationwide faculty entrance examination are largely absent this 12 months in comparison with earlier years, when firms rolled out a wide range of occasions akin to particular high-interest financial savings merchandise and card advantages, trade officers mentioned Sunday.
Among the many nation’s main bank card issuers — Shinhan, Woori, Samsung, Lotte, Hana, Hyundai, NH NongHyup, BC and KB Kookmin — solely KB Kookmin Card is working a devoted promotion for takers of the Faculty Scholastic Capacity Check (CSAT), held nationwide final Thursday.
Kookmin Card’s occasion, which runs till Dec. 12, targets debit card customers aged 18 to 24. Members who spend a specific amount can win prizes akin to an Apple Watch or wi-fi earbuds, and extra factors are awarded for purchases of 30,000 received ($21) or extra in classes like purchasing, lodging, transportation and leisure.
KB Pay is working a separate occasion the place test-takers can submit their tales to obtain small prizes.
“We ran a message-of-support marketing campaign earlier than the examination, and after the examination we created a promotion aimed toward giving college students tangible advantages,” a Kookmin Card official mentioned.
In contrast, most bank card firms are specializing in common promotions, akin to abroad purchasing reductions or sensible on a regular basis advantages like rental and insurance coverage fee reductions.
Banks, which beforehand launched particular merchandise each November to draw new shoppers, are seeing an identical development. This 12 months, financial savings and deposit price promotions particularly concentrating on test-takers have principally disappeared.
This stands in sharp distinction to different sectors, that are actively concentrating on college students who took the CSAT with a variety of reductions on film tickets, flights, meals, style and sweetness gadgets.
Card trade insiders attribute the development to a broader effort to scale back advertising expenditures amid declining income.
“We’re reducing advertising bills as a consequence of continued stress on income from measures akin to decrease service provider charges and stricter card mortgage laws. On this surroundings, promotions aimed toward test-takers, which often ship restricted outcomes, have fallen decrease on the precedence record,” an official at one of many main card issuers mentioned. “The main focus has now shifted towards teams extra prone to grow to be long-term shoppers, akin to younger working adults and job seekers.”
A banking trade official, in the meantime, famous that the rise in financial savings and deposit rates of interest has shifted the main target from short-term promotional occasions to enhancing the competitiveness of the merchandise themselves.
“The enchantment of preferential advantages has weakened in contrast with the previous, provided that rates of interest are already increased,” she mentioned.
In distinction to conventional monetary establishments, the digital asset sector is growing its give attention to student-oriented occasions.
Dunamu, the operator of the nation’s largest cryptocurrency change, Upbit, is internet hosting a quiz occasion as a part of its digital asset training program.
Members acquire monetary information helpful for school life and full quizzes, with prizes awarded in keeping with their scores. Good scorers can win an iPad Air 13, whereas all members scoring 80 or above obtain a Bitcoin coupon value 30,000 received. The primary 10,000 entrants additionally obtain a 5,000-won comfort retailer coupon.
This displays the trade’s effort to strengthen engagement with youthful generations.
“We hope college students will use our occasion to enhance their monetary information and contribute to cultivating a wholesome digital asset funding tradition,” Dunamu CEO Oh Kyoung-suk mentioned.
