Friday, September 21, 2007

[The Chosun Ilbo, September 19 2007] Electronic Coin Purse Could Solve W10 Coin Dilemma

Many people say they are hesitant to keep W10 coins because they are cumbersome yet they don't want to give them up since they rarely have them. Kim Tae-kyun is a 28-year-old office worker who frequently has to work overtime and take late-night cab rides home. Because of the late hour premium, Kim is often due small amounts of change after paying the cab fare, but he usually refuses W10 coins -- they're just not worth the burden. Of course when he needs to buy a W20 plastic bag at a supermarket, he doesn't have any W10 coins on hand.

To overcome this common dilemma, a Korean company has developed an electronic coin purse. The system lets users put small amounts of change onto transportation fare cards or credit cards with embedded smart chips. For example, if a taxi fare is W12,340 and the passenger pays W13,000, the change of W660 is saved on the transportation fare card. The electronic coin purse provides the system for small deposits and payments via the cards.

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