From Paper Card Terms to Electronic Documents... Amendment to the Credit Finance Act Passed

Selectable Among Written, Fax, and Electronic Documents

From now on, various documents such as terms and conditions required for credit card issuance, renewal, and reissuance can also be received as electronic documents.

On the 28th, Kim Hee-gon, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the People Power Party, announced that the amendment to the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, which abolishes the principle of providing written documents upon credit card issuance and allows selective provision through written documents, fax, or electronic documents, passed the National Assembly plenary session the day before.

Under the current law, when issuing, renewing, replacing, or reissuing credit or debit cards, various explanations including terms and conditions and major card details such as annual fees must, in principle, be provided in writing.

Typically, the printed material was about seven pages of A4 paper. The card industry estimates that about 400 million sheets of A4 paper are consumed annually. Most of these printed materials are discarded immediately after receipt, causing unnecessary resource waste and environmental damage. From the financial consumer's perspective, there was also inconvenience in managing documents because electronic documents were not available.

In particular, fintech companies could easily subscribe to payment services through electronic documents, raising fairness issues due to 'regulatory arbitrage.'

Therefore, the amendment abolished the principle of written document provision. It allows customers to choose among written documents, fax, or electronic documents. If a customer requests a specific method, it will be provided accordingly.

Assemblyman Kim said, "The practice of requiring paper documents caused regulatory differences and environmental pollution issues. With the amendment of the law, we can achieve regulatory innovation along with environmental protection."

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