Naver Pay, Woori Financial launch season 2 savings account with 4% rate, new debit card

Naver Pay has teamed up with Woori Bank to revive a special interest rate offer on its Npay Money Woori account, while also launching a linked debit card with Woori Card that rewards up to 1.3% on domestic purchases with no prior monthly spending requirement.

Naver Pay said Thursday it had partnered with Woori Bank and Woori Card to introduce the Npay Money Woori account season 2 and a companion product, the Npay Woori Check card.

The Npay Money Woori account, first launched in August last year, is a demand deposit product that lets users deposit Npay Money — Naver Pay's prepaid balance — with Woori Bank to earn interest and accumulate reward points. Customers open an account at Woori Bank and then activate the "connect to Money account" feature in the Npay app.

Under season 2, customers who sign up by April 21 next year will receive up to 4% annual interest on balances of up to 2 million won ($1,510) for one year after enrollment. The rate comprises a base rate of 0.1% per year, a preferential rate of 2.9 percentage points and a special event rate of 1.0 percentage point. The special rate applies to a maximum of 750,000 accounts; after the first year, customers who meet preferential conditions will receive up to 0.5% per year.

Earlier, in April, Woori Bank expanded the pool of accounts eligible for the 4% event rate from 300,000 to 750,000 after the original 300,000 slots sold out by the end of March, prompting the bank to add 450,000 more. The special rate benefit at that time was available to customers who signed up by Aug. 19.

The newly launched Npay Woori Check card is available to anyone who holds an existing account or signs up for season 2. With no annual fee and no prior monthly spending requirement, the card earns a base reward of 0.5% in Npay points on all domestic and overseas purchases. At domestic merchants, an additional 0.8% is credited through the end of October next year, bringing the maximum reward to 1.3%.

The card also comes with overseas perks. Customers who choose the Mastercard-branded version are exempt from a $0.50 per-transaction foreign payment fee and a $3 per-transaction overseas ATM withdrawal fee. There is no annual fee for either the domestic-only or the international version.

Account holders can also earn points on online purchases. Setting the Npay Money Woori account as a payment method earns up to 3% in rewards, while Naver Plus membership members can stack their membership benefits for a total of up to 7%. For in-person payments, users can earn up to four times the standard point-draw reward amount.

A launch promotion is also under way. Customers who make a domestic or overseas purchase of 30,000 won or more after receiving the debit card will earn an additional 3,000 Npay points. Those who open a new season 2 account and make an online purchase of 500,000 won or more will receive 5,000 points.

"With the launch of Npay Money Woori account season 2, we are introducing a linked debit card that users can take advantage of without the burden of prior spending requirements," said Ryu Jeong-won, Naver Pay's payments and finance leader. "We will continue to expand benefits that users can feel in every payment environment in their daily lives."