Why is Happy Point cutting earn rates on standard payments?

Sangmidang Holdings — formerly SPC Group — will cut the point earn rate on its Happy Point integrated membership program from 5% to 1% at major brands including Paris Baguette, Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin starting next month. However, customers who use a new in-house mobile payment service launching at the same time will continue to earn at the existing 5% rate. The move is a strategy to push adoption of the company's own payment platform.

According to industry sources Saturday, Sectanine, the IT affiliate of Sangmidang Holdings that operates Happy Point, plans to adjust point earn rates for affiliated brands when members pay by standard methods, effective Sept. 1.

Ten brands will see their earn rate drop from 5% to 1%: Paris Baguette, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin, Pascucci, Paris Croissant, Linas, Coffee at Works, Bizeun, City Deli and OCS. Seven other brands — La Griglia, StrEAT, L'Atelier, Fashion 5, Queens Park, Di Queens Catering and Vera Napoli — will have their rate trimmed from 2% to 1%. Three brands will keep their current rates: Shake Shack at 2%, Jamba at 5% and The World Vine at 1%.

Customers who use "Point Payment" (working title), a new account-linked mobile payment service launching in September, will earn a total of 5% regardless of a brand's standard earn rate. Point Payment lets users link a bank account to the Happy Point app to make seamless payments.

Under the new structure, customers who previously earned 5% at a brand can preserve that full rate by paying through Point Payment. Some dining brands that had offered only 2% will actually see their earn benefit rise to 5%. The company is lowering the standard earn rate while maintaining or expanding rewards for those who pay through its own platform — a move that aligns with a broader retail industry trend toward strengthening proprietary payment services.

"Point Payment was introduced to improve customer convenience by linking point accumulation, redemption and payment into a single service," a Sectanine official said. The official added that even when customers apply other discounts such as carrier promotions or in-app coupons — which previously yielded earn rates of 0 to 0.1 percent — the new service will provide a 5 percent earn benefit.

Happy Point is currently accepted at more than 6,000 stores nationwide, spanning major brands such as Paris Baguette, Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin as well as Sangmidang Holdings affiliates including Paris Croissant and Pascucci. Points can be used like cash in increments of 10 points, starting from 100 points, on purchases of 1,000 won ($0.72) or more, and remain valid for three years from the date they are earned.