Mass Exodus: 2,100 Card Recruiters Flee in Just One Year – A 5-Year Crisis Unfolds

Let’s accelerate the non-face-to-face transition to “reduce costs”
The number of recruits decreased sharply from 80,000 in 2002.
Opinion to maintain for the digitally underprivileged

More than 2,100 card recruiters, who were the mainstay of face-to-face sales, packed up their bags over the past year. This is the largest decrease in size over the past five years. This is due to the increase in card issuance through online and mobile devices, and if this trend continues, it is predicted that the number of people will fall to 4,000 by the end of this year. Although credit card companies are reducing the number of recruits in line with cost reduction and card issuance trends, some point out that this may increase inconvenience for the financially vulnerable.

According to the Credit Finance Association on the 28th, as of the end of last month, the number of card recruiters from eight full-time credit card companies (Shinhan, Samsung, Hyundai, KB Kookmin, Lotte, Hana, Woori, and BC Card) was 4,395. This is a decrease of 32.75% (2,140 people) compared to the same period last year (6,535 people) and is the largest since 2020 (2,165 people).

The number of card recruiters reached 22,872 in 2016. However, as the number of stores decreased rapidly, card recruiters who had signed exclusive contracts were also forced to withdraw. The number of recruiters, which had shrunk to 16,658 in 2017, has fallen to the 10,000 level as credit card companies seek digital transformation and member recruitment through non-face-to-face channels expands.

It fell from 11,382 in 2019 to 9,217 in 2020, and decreased by about 1,000 each year to 8,145 in 2021, 7,678 in 2022, and 5,818 in 2023. The prevailing view is that this year, the decline will become even steeper and the number of recruits will not be able to maintain the 4,000 level.

Card recruiters receive an allowance of 100,000 to 150,000 won per issuance from the card company. Considering the costs that credit card companies invest in store operation to manage recruiters, the cost of one recruiter alone amounts to about 400,000 won. This is why credit card companies are trying to reduce labor costs and store operating costs by conducting card issuance non-face-to-face.

As of 2019, when the number of card recruiters was around 10,000, the recruitment cost of credit card companies was KRW 927.9 billion, but it decreased to KRW 841.7 billion last year and remained at the KRW 800 billion range until recently.

Although the number of recruits has decreased, the number of card members is steadily increasing. As of the end of September, the total number of individual members of eight full-time credit card companies was 77,847,000, an increase of 2,424,000 compared to the same period last year (75,423,000).

Recently, rather than recruiting members through recruiters, existing customers who use distribution companies or big tech companies are naturally attracted as card company members, focusing on affiliated cards such as commercial credit cards (PLCC).

However, there are some opinions that the number of recruits should be maintained at an appropriate level. This is because card issuance terms and conditions are as complex as insurance terms, so incomplete sales targeting the financially underprivileged, such as minors, may increase. There are concerns that if card recruiters disappear, there may be problems with the future competitiveness of credit card companies.

An official from the card industry said, “In addition to issuing cards, recruiters also play a role in introducing loan products through cards and cross-selling,” and added, “In the mid- to long-term, maintaining the number of card recruiters at an appropriate level will help expand market share.”