Twosome Place outpaces Starbucks in payments for 3rd straight month amid 'Tank Day' fallout

Twosome Place has surpassed Starbucks in estimated credit and debit card payments for three consecutive months following the controversy over Starbucks Korea's so-called "Tank Day" promotion. Budget coffee franchise Mega MGC Coffee is also closing in fast.

According to IGAWorks' Mobile Index, Twosome Place's estimated payments totaled 117.05 billion won ($81.6 million) in July, exceeding Starbucks' 110.06 billion won by about 7 billion won.

Twosome Place has now topped Starbucks in monthly payments for three straight months since May — the first time in at least three years it has done so on a monthly basis. In May, Twosome Place recorded 123.65 billion won against Starbucks' 121.19 billion won, a gap of 2.5 billion won.

In June, Twosome Place posted 120.68 billion won while Starbucks fell to 100.39 billion won, widening the gap to about 20.3 billion won. Over the three months from May through July, Twosome Place's cumulative payments reached 361.38 billion won, outpacing Starbucks' 331.64 billion won by 29.8 billion won.

The controversy began when Starbucks Korea used the term "Tank Day" and similar expressions in a tumbler discount promotion on May 18, the anniversary of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, drawing widespread public criticism. Starbucks' weekly payments and new app installations declined in the aftermath. However, its payments recovered somewhat in July, rising 9.6 percent from the previous month. The competition for the top spot between Twosome Place and Starbucks is expected to continue for now.

Meanwhile, Mega MGC Coffee's payments reached 98.21 billion won in July, up 1.6 percent from the previous month and approaching the 100 billion won mark. Paik's Coffee, operated by The Born Korea, posted 24.5 billion won, roughly in line with the previous month.