Korea Prepaid Card

What Korea Prepaid Card does

Korea Prepaid Card Co., Ltd. (한국선불카드 주식회사), founded in 2011 and headquartered in Pangyo, Seongnam, South Korea, is a privately-held Financial Supervisory Service-licensed Electronic Finance Business specializing in prepaid electronic payment instrument issuance and management. The company operates a four-pillar platform portfolio: a Distribution Platform moving partner gift cards through 30,000+ online and offline retail channels (Kakao Gifting, GS25, E-Mart, Homeplus); an ASP Solution used by approximately 4,000 partner companies for prepaid card issuance, charging, payment, and settlement; a BrandPay service that lets brands lacking direct prepaid licensing run their own branded prepaid and loyalty programs on KPC's ledger, transaction, and settlement infrastructure; and a set of consumer platforms including Mobile POP (co-developed with GS Retail), Palrago (the largest Korean mobile-coupon trading marketplace with ~200,000 users and KRW 180B annual cash/mileage charge), Eggmoney, Coffee Passport, Scanit, Loop Card, K-WEL Card, and Olle Pay. The technical foundation is the T-GRID API platform (launched 2015), which exposes real-time issuance, sale, charging, payment, cancellation, transaction history, and expiration-extension endpoints consumed by client apps (LUSH Korea, KGC CareNow, Subway Korea, OllePass, M-Order), POS/KIOSK systems, and major integration partners (KakaoTalk, KakaoPay, Naver Pay, 11Pay, Facebook/Instagram, Samsung Galaxy Store, Samsung Card, BC Card, Smartro, OneStore). Business model combines transaction-based fees on processed GTV (800 billion KRW in 2023Y), ASP and BrandPay service fees, distribution/sales-agency commissions, and fund management for prepaid balances held under SGI Seoul Guarantee Insurance deposit protection. Customer base spans consumer brand issuers, F&B and hospitality chains (Subway, Mom's Touch, Cozyhouse, JW Marriott, CheongKwanJang), government and public-sector clients (Korea Forest Welfare Institute, HD Hyundai Mipo, Jung-gu Ulsan), financial institutions (Woori Bank, OK Savings Bank, Acuon Savings Bank), and individual end-users purchasing gift cards and prepaid products.

Name

Korea Prepaid Card

Legal name

Korea Prepaid Card Co., Ltd. (한국선불카드 주식회사)

Website

https://kpcard.co.kr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Korea Prepaid Card (한국선불카드) is a FSS-licensed Korean prepaid payment platform (founded 2011) that issues, distributes, and operates branded prepaid cards, gift vouchers, and loyalty programs for 4,000+ enterprise partners across 30,000+ retail channels, with the T-GRID API as its core technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Prepaid Payment Services

SIC

Services-Consumer Credit Reporting, Collection Agencies (7320)

akta.pro primary industry

Prepaid Card Program Managers & Issuers (BIN Sponsors) (FSAMANAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Corporate & Incentive / Reward Prepaid Programs (FSAMANAD)

Keywords

• Prepaid card solutions
• Gift card distribution
• Brand payment services
• Mobile coupon trading
• Electronic payment platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Bundangdong

HQ country

South Korea

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Transaction fees: Transaction-based revenue mentioned in planning notes; no verifiable WX source ID present.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Core offering

Korea Prepaid Card (한국선불카드) provides customized prepaid payment solutions to corporate customers through a regulated Electronic Finance Business license, operating a B2B platform that issues, distributes, and settles prepaid cards, brand-pay balances, mobile coupons, and gift vouchers. The company combines a distribution platform (roughly 30,000 online and offline sales channels), an ASP prepaid-issuance and settlement solution used by approximately 4,000 partner companies, and a BrandPay service that lets non-licensed brands outsource prepaid issuance, fund custody, and merchant settlement. It also directly runs consumer platforms such as Mobile POP, Palrago, Eggmoney, Coffee Passport, Scanit, Loop Card, and K-WEL Card.

Product overview

Korea Prepaid Card (KPC) operates a unified prepaid-payment platform portfolio spanning four interlocking pillars: (1) a Distribution Platform for online and offline gift card retail across ~30,000 affiliated channels; (2) an ASP Solution for prepaid card issuance, charging, payment, and settlement used by ~4,000 partner companies; (3) a Branded Prepaid Payment (BrandPay) service for brands that do not meet direct licensing thresholds, delivered via ledger, transaction, and settlement systems; and (4) KPC's own consumer platforms including Mobile POP (the jointly operated GS Retail prepaid simple-payment app), Palrago (the unused mobile-coupon trading marketplace), Eggmoney (the online-only PIN-based gift voucher), Coffee Passport (the local-coffee integrated gift card), Scanit (the QR-code-based O2O gift card distribution platform), Loop Card (the loyalty program), and K-WEL Card (the IC-chip prepaid card platform). These offerings sit on top of KPC's T-GRID prepaid API and brandpay APIs that integrate with client apps (LUSH, CheongKwanJang CareNow, Subway, Olle Pass, M-Order) and POS/KIOSK systems, and are complemented by operational services such as ISMS-certified infrastructure, AML/MYDATA compliance, and the underlying Electronic Finance Business license (prepaid electronic payment instrument issuance and management).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mobile Pop (모바일팝): Online and offline simple prepaid payment service co-developed and co-operated with GS Retail
• Palrago (팔라고)
• Eggmoney (에그머니)
• Coffee Passport (커피 패스포트)
• Scanit (스캔잇)
• Loopcard (루프카드)
• Kwel Card (케이웰 카드)
• Olle Pay (올레페이)

Products and services

• Mobile POP (모바일팝) Online-and-offline integrated rechargeable simple-payment service jointly developed and operated with GS Retail; usable at GS25, GS The Fresh, online channels, and point-exchange partners such as Naver Pay and 11Pay, with GS&POINT auto-accumulation and POP discounts.
• Palrago (팔라고) Mobile coupon trading marketplace platform operated directly by Korea Prepaid Card; users sell unused mobile coupons at 20%+ discount and withdraw cash or buy other coupons, with no transaction fees and safe settlement.
• Eggmoney (에그머니) Online payment-only gift voucher issued and distributed by Korea Prepaid Card; usable like cash at approximately 200 internet merchants across online games and online content services, with issuance types including POSA, Virtual, Card, Mobile Barcode, Paper, In-code, and Membership.
• Coffee Passport (커피 패스포트) Integrated local-coffee-branded gift card operated by Korea Prepaid Card; offered in 10K / 30K / 50K / 100K KRW denominations and usable at 24+ affiliated local coffee brands nationwide, delivered as MMS mobile barcode for gifting use.
• Scanit (스캔잇) QR-code-based mobile gift card O2O distribution platform that allows local merchants to issue and sell their own branded prepaid cards and sell partner-brand gift cards through a QR-code sticker or table-tent, with settlement fee revenue.
• Distribution Platform (유통플랫폼) B2B distribution platform that sells partner-brand gift cards on behalf of brands across approximately 30,000 affiliated online and offline retail channels, including Kakao Gifting, open marketplaces, welfare malls, GS25, E-Mart, Homeplus, and the in-store Scanit QR service.
• ASP Solution (ASP 솔루션) ASP-delivered prepaid card issuance, charging, payment, and settlement solution used by approximately 4,000 partner companies; includes card issuance, customer infrastructure API linkage, Palrago ASP for mobile coupon trading, mobile coupon distribution, and brand-exclusive mobile coupon gifting solution.
• BrandPay (선불형 브랜드페이) Prepaid electronic payment means issued by KPC on behalf of brands that do not meet direct prepaid business licensing thresholds; KPC handles issuance, sales, fund management, and merchant settlement, with ledger, transaction, and settlement systems offered in on-premises or Financial Cloud Security-certified cloud variants.
• T-GRID Platform Proprietary prepaid settlement and mobile-coupon trading API platform that provides APIs for real-time issuance, sale, and use of prepaid cards and mobile coupons, and powers integrations such as Instagram gift card distribution, Palrago, and the Subway Sub Card / Sub Point system.
• Loop Card (루프카드) KPC-operated loyalty program offering prepaid cards, stamps, mileage, coupons, and membership-tier management for local coffee brands and small merchants; used as the umbrella loyalty brand for affiliated cafés including Coffee Passport.
• K-WEL Card (케이웰 카드) Extensible IC-chip-based prepaid card platform for pocket-money cards, welfare cards, and corporate promotions, with secure offline card-merchant acceptance nationwide; includes a K-WEL Scholarship Card for academies with single admin-site grant, recovery, and usage management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 800 billion KRW in annual prepaid transactions processed
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration29 records

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• GS Retail (GS25)flagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorConvenience store partner providing POSA distribution of prepaid and gift products across a national chain. Listed as a customer in planning notes; distribution relationship inferred.
• SamsungflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a customer/partner in planning notes; relationship specifics not detailed in the supplied source data.
• SubwaycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorListed as a customer/partner in planning notes; relationship specifics not detailed in the supplied source data.
• Other named brand partners (4,000+ referenced)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPlanning notes reference 4,000+ partner brands issuing prepaid products via the platform; individual names not enumerated in the supplied source data.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Givex: Canadian gift card, loyalty, and prepaid technology platform serving restaurants and retailers. Comparable to KPC's ASP Solution and Loop Card loyalty/prepaid issuance stack, especially for brands that outsource prepaid and loyalty infrastructure rather than build it in-house.
• Blackhawk Network: Global leader in prepaid and gift card distribution and branded payments, partnering with major retailers worldwide. Closest international analogue to KPC's Distribution Platform and BrandPay businesses, with the same combination of issuer-licensing infrastructure, retail channel reach, and brand partner ecosystem.
• Raise: US-based marketplace for buying and selling unused gift cards at a discount. Directly comparable to KPC's Palrago mobile coupon trading marketplace, which monetizes unused balances through a two-sided marketplace with cash-out and exchange features.
• Edenred: Global leader in prepaid corporate services including meal vouchers, employee benefits, and welfare cards. Closest peer to KPC's enterprise and government welfare card deployments (HD Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, Jung-gu Ulsan, Korea Forest Welfare), with a comparable regulated-prepaid issuance model.
• Happy Money (해피머니): Korea's leading direct competitor in prepaid electronic payment instruments and gift voucher issuance/distribution. Operates a similar product-and-licensing model with a national retail distribution network, making it the closest like-for-like peer to KPC's BrandPay and ASP businesses in the domestic Korean market.
• Sodexo Benefits & Rewards Services: Global provider of prepaid benefits, gift cards, and meal vouchers to employers and public-sector clients. Comparable to KPC's enterprise prepaid issuance and employee welfare card programs, with a similar mix of regulated issuance, B2B distribution, and merchant settlement.
• InComm: US-based provider of prepaid products, gift cards, and payment technology with deep retail distribution (similar to KPC's 30,000+ channels). Highly comparable business model combining POSA-style activation, branded prepaid solutions, and B2B prepaid-as-a-service for retailers and brands.

Broad incumbents

• Naver Pay: Korea's leading online payment platform with point/balance programs and merchant reach. Operates as a Mobile POP balance-exchange partner, and at larger scale competes with KPC for prepaid balance share at retail checkout — a broader incumbent with overlapping but not identical offering.
• Kakao Pay: Korea's dominant mobile payment platform with growing gift card and prepaid distribution capabilities (Kakao Gifting, KakaoPay Money 'Good Deal'). Larger and broader than KPC, but directly competes in prepaid and gift card distribution and is also a KPC distribution partner — making it both a customer and a competitive threat.
• Viva Republica (Toss): Korean fintech super-app offering mobile payments, gift cards, and financial services with national scale and heavy venture funding. A broader incumbent than KPC in the consumer wallet space, but increasingly adjacent in prepaid and gift card distribution, and a relevant reference point for what a well-funded Korean fintech competitor could pursue in KPC's core market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCMfVbR8_DQT0FkUfvreA_kw
• Facebookfacebook.com/koreaprepaidcard
• LinkedInkpcard.co.kr/recruitV2.do
• Instagraminstagram.com/loopcard

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Korea Prepaid Card