The financial supervisor and card industry are overhauling compensation for exchange losses arising when overseas card payments are cancelled. From this month, cancellation messages will also show the won amount; from 2027, upgraded systems will widen automatic compensation.
The Financial Supervisory Service said on the 22nd that it had agreed with the card industry to strengthen automatic compensation and consumer notification to reduce exchange losses arising when overseas card payments are cancelled.
광고 문의 · 300×250The loss arises because the exchange rate differs between the day of payment and the day of cancellation. In principle the original and cancellation records are matched so that the same rate applies. But where mismatched record details prevent the original transaction from being identified, the rate on the day the cancellation record is received applies, and the consumer absorbs the difference.
Effective this month is better disclosure. Cancellation messages, which previously showed only the foreign-currency amount, will now also state the won amount. Where the original transaction cannot be identified and the later rate is applied, consumers will be told immediately, and guidance on the compensation scheme and how to claim will be expanded on issuers' websites and apps.
From 2027 the structure itself changes. Issuers will upgrade their systems so that the two records can be linked using other payment details even when some fields do not match. For cancellations that systems still cannot match, staff will carry out an additional check and compensation will be paid automatically.
Why Consumers Had to Catch It Themselves
Until now, compensation generally depended on the consumer noticing and filing a claim. When a cancellation message showed only a foreign-currency figure, it was hard to see how much had been lost in won, and many did not know a compensation scheme existed at all. Small amounts were simply let go.
For frequent overseas spenders the total is not trivial. In volatile periods a single transaction can produce a noticeable gap. Student tuition and living costs, and cancelled flights and hotel bookings, are the familiar cases.
Why It Matters to Chinese Families in Korea
For households moving between Korea, China and Taiwan, overseas card payments and cancellations are routine. Amid repeated ticket changes, school fees and cancelled bookings, the exchange loss has been a cost that rarely showed itself. Simply seeing the won amount alongside gives a thread to pull.
