BC Card to promote QR payments through first Korea-China student exchange

BC Card plans to send its domestic student supporters to Shanghai to promote its local QR payment service, marking the first exchange between the company's Korean and Chinese student ambassador programs as part of a push to boost QR payment use in China.

BC Card announced Wednesday that it will arrange a Shanghai visit for the ninth cohort of its BC Paybook Leaders program in November. The group will meet with the UPI QR Supporters, a student ambassador program operating in China, to share insights on payment environments and user experiences in the two countries.

Participants will use Paybook QR at affiliated merchants in Shanghai and visit the company's local subsidiary. Drawing on their firsthand experience with QR payments, they will produce video content explaining how to use the service and highlighting its convenience for domestic customers.

BC Card is also running a discount campaign to drive broader use of Paybook QR in China. From Sept. 22 through Nov. 30, customers who make a single Paybook QR transaction of $70 or more at offline merchants on the Chinese mainland using a BC UnionPay personal credit or debit card will receive an immediate 10 percent discount.

BC Paybook Leaders launched in 2023 as an extracurricular program for university students. Participants use the Paybook service firsthand and submit suggestions for improvements and marketing ideas. They also take part in hands-on activities such as employee workshops and visits to card issuance centers. Now in its ninth cohort, the program has produced 1,210 blog posts and 110 video pieces.

In China, BC Card's local subsidiary — established in 2008 — runs the UPI QR Supporters program, which is made up of Chinese university students. Participants experience the Chinese QR payment service directly and produce promotional content related to it.

"We designed this program to convey, from the customer's perspective, how to use China's QR payment service and how convenient it is — something the students will experience for themselves," said Kim Hee-jeong, head of BC Card's communications division. "We will continue to incorporate user feedback gathered through the program into service improvements."