Korean credit card firms earned more than 2 trillion won ($1.76 billion) from their secondary businesses last year as they scrambled to diversify profit sources, industry data showed Tuesday.

The card issuers’ combined revenue from insurance sales, travel agency business and mail orders reached 2.45 trillion won in 2011, up 36 percent from 1.84 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Credit Finance Association.

Their ancillary revenue has grown five-fold in 10 years, with the amount reaching 515 billion won in 2001.

Some of the card firms have called on the local financial regulator for a law revision which will allow them to expand their secondary businesses, citing the commission rate cut will take away hundreds of billions of won from their profit.
Early this month, South Korea’s financial regulator said it will lower the average commission rate card firms charge merchants in an effort to help ease smaller stores’ financial burdens. (Yonhap News)