Implementation of 3 major support measures for small business owners: utility bills, operating funds, and delivery fees
A government project to ease the management burden of small business owners is being implemented in earnest. On June 24, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced that it will implement the ‘3 major support projects’ consisting of the Burden Reduction Credit Biz Plus Card and delivery and courier fee support for small business owners who are struggling due to high interest rates and high prices.
This is a follow-up measure to the ‘Comprehensive Measures for Small Business Owners and Self-Employed Persons’ announced by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups in July 2024. In February of this year, KRW 203.7 billion in the original budget was spent to first implement the delivery and courier fee support, and the first additional budget of KRW 1.566 trillion for the newly launched Burden Reduction Credit and KRW 700 billion for the Biz Plus Card project will be fully released starting in July.
The Burden Reduction Credit project provides KRW 500,000 in support in the form of digital points that small business owners can use to pay utility bills such as electricity, gas, and water bills and the four major insurance premiums. The target is small business owners with annual sales of 300 million won or less in 2024 or 2025, and in the case of multiple businesses, only one business can apply per person. If a small business owner selects a card company during the application process, all credit and check cards held by that card company will be automatically registered. After that, when a small business owner pays utility bills and 4 major insurance premiums with a registered card, points will be automatically deducted without separate proof.
Applications will be accepted from July 14 to November 28. However, those who opened in 2025 can apply from August 1, considering the first half of the year reporting period for sales to the National Tax Service. You can apply at the dedicated website ‘Buburanggamcredit.kr’ or ‘Small Business 24’. The credit is valid until December 31, 2025, and must be used up within the period.
Burden Reduction Credit, 500,000 won support for utility bills and 4 major insurance premiums
The ‘Biz Plus Card’ is a project that supports small business owners with medium and low credit (NICE credit score 595-839 points) to receive a credit card with a maximum usage limit of 10 million won. You can receive a new credit card with a certificate of guarantee from the Regional Credit Guarantee Foundation as collateral and use it to pay for business operating expenses such as purchasing materials or office equipment. You can use it with interest-free installments for up to 6 months and receive a cashback benefit of up to 3% (up to 100,000 won) of the card usage amount for the first year. The card annual fee and guarantee fee are also fully exempted, so there is no separate cost when issuing the card.
To receive the Biz Plus Card, you must first apply for a guarantee through the Regional Credit Guarantee Foundation’s ‘Guarantee Dream’ application (app) (Seoul: ‘Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation’ app, Gyeonggi: ‘Easy One’ app). After the guarantee is approved, you can apply for card issuance using the ‘IBK Card’ or ‘iOne Bank’ app of the Industrial Bank of Korea. It takes up to 10 business days from the guarantee application to the card being delivered. Applications are accepted from July 14 to December 31.
Biz Plus Card, issuance of credit card with a limit of up to 10 million won
The delivery and courier fee support is a project that provides up to 300,000 won to small business owners with annual sales of 300 million won or less. In the case of multiple businesses, only one business per person can receive support. For small business owners who can check their delivery fee performance electronically without separate proof, expedited payment has been implemented since February of this year, and confirmed payment has been implemented for other targets since April. For confirmed payment, you must submit documents that can verify delivery, such as a delivery and courier fee invoice or tax invoice, through the dedicated website ‘Small Business Delivery and Courier Fee Support.kr’ or ‘Small Business 24’ within this year.
Choi Won-young, Director of the Small Business Policy Bureau at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, said that he would push forward the three major support projects without a hitch through on-site publicity, etc. so that the management burden of small business owners can be alleviated, and asked small business owners to quickly apply for the projects to receive the help they need.
[Editor Lee]
