Card Commission Rates Reduced for 3.09 Million Small and Micro Businesses

Preferential Commission Rates Up to 1.45% Applied
Average Refund of KRW 387,000 for Newly Opened Merchants in the First Half

Starting from August 14, 2026, the government will apply preferential commission rates to 3,094,000 small and micro-sized credit card merchants, based on the second half of this year. For newly registered credit card merchants in the first half of the year that have been designated as small or micro merchants, a total of KRW 61,470,000,000 in commission fee differences will be refunded.

The Financial Services Commission announced the "2026 Second Half Selection Results for Small and Micro Merchants and Card Fee Refund Guidelines for Newly Registered Merchants in the First Half of 2026" on August 11, 2026.

The selected merchants this time account for 95.7% of all credit card merchants. Depending on annual sales, they will receive preferential commission rates of 0.4% to 1.45% for credit cards and 0.15% to 1.15% for check cards.

The Credit Finance Association has been sending out relevant notices to businesses since August 7. Merchants can check their applicable commission rate through the Credit Finance Association, call centers of each card company, or the "Integrated Inquiry System for Merchant Sales Transaction Information."

Additionally, preferential commission rates will also be applied to 1,999,000 sub-merchants of electronic payment gateway (PG) companies and to 166,000 taxi operators. These merchants can verify their commission rates through their respective PG service providers or payment settlement agencies for transportation.

The preferential commission rates will also be retroactively applied to 159,000 newly opened credit card merchants in the first half of the year whose sales volumes qualify them as small and micro-sized merchants, enabling them to receive a refund of the commission fee difference already paid.

On average, each merchant is expected to receive a refund of about KRW 387,000.

During the same period, 132,000 newly registered sub-merchants under PG companies, as well as 5,675 individual and corporate taxi operators, will also be eligible for commission fee refunds.

The refund process is scheduled to be completed by September 28, 2026.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.