Samsung Card has reversed its decision to withhold payments to merchants in response to opposition from Homeplus. Meanwhile, Hyundai Card's points payment service remains suspended.
According to Yonhap News on July 6, Homeplus demanded an immediate withdrawal of the payment hold after Samsung Card and Hyundai Card notified it of the suspension of payments to offline merchants and the termination of their online points partnership following a decision by the Seoul Rehabilitation Court to terminate the rehabilitation process.
Homeplus argued that the termination of the rehabilitation process does not take immediate effect and can be appealed within 14 days from the announcement date, asserting that the rehabilitation process is still in effect. Therefore, it contended that the card companies' notifications regarding the termination of the points partnership do not meet legal requirements and are thus invalid.
Homeplus also countered that withholding payments due to outstanding debts or canceled sales is unreasonable, especially since there are no credit transactions occurring offline and online operations have been halted. It emphasized that blocking card payment collections would inevitably disrupt normal business operations.
As the controversy escalated, Samsung Card changed its initial stance. The company determined that the trend of canceled sales had stabilized and decided to resume normal payments to merchants starting July 7.
Initially, Samsung Card explained that it temporarily withheld payments as a precautionary measure to prevent consumer harm due to a surge in canceled sales following the termination of the rehabilitation process. It also stated that if the rehabilitation process were to be reinstated or if a bankruptcy trustee were appointed, it would negotiate payment terms accordingly.
Samsung Card's standard merchant agreement includes provisions allowing the card company to withhold payments if significant operational changes occur, such as the filing for rehabilitation or bankruptcy by the merchant.
However, Samsung Card confirmed that there would be no changes to its points partnership agreement with Homeplus.
Hyundai Card reported that it continued to make payments to Homeplus on the same day and communicated that it would offset any canceled sales. The suspension of the points payment service was described as a measure to consider potential consumer harm, but it is understood that discussions with Homeplus are still needed to finalize the contract termination.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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