Starbucks Korea facing probe over US$153m in prepaid card takings
It was the only coffeehouse chain to be included in the recent inspection.
Starbucks Coffee Korea is being probed by the country’s financial watchdog over its prepaid cards, The Korea Times reported.
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) said it will inspect the financial soundness of 58 digital cash issuers, including Starbucks, that are not registered as electronic financial business operators.
As the digital cash issued by the chain can be used only at its stores, the country’s Electronic Financial Transactions Act does not force Starbucks to be registered as an electronic financial business operator. However, the FSS demanded that the company submit its financial data, considering the “significant amount of cash customers have loaded into Starbucks' pre-paid gift cards and app.”
Data from Rep. Hong Sung-kook of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) indicated that 180.1 billion won (US$153 million) was loaded into the Starbucks app as of last December.
