Debit card use increases in N. Korea

The “Narae” debit card issued by North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank is seeing growing use in Pyongyang. (Photo : Yonhap)

With technology such as “electronic wallets” providing the world with alternatives to credit cards, North Korea is working to make sure that paying with plastic stays in vogue.

Residents of the showcase capital Pyongyang are increasingly using electronic payment cards for purchases, analysts say. The regime may seek to expand this as it attempts to modernize its economy under Kim Jong-un.

Two debit cards options exist. One is offered by Koryo Bank in a joint venture with China, and the more popular Narae card was launched by the North’s Foreign Trade Bank last year. Most hotels and many shops, particularly those frequented by foreigners, accept the cards.

The Narae card’s “red-and-blue stickers can be found in taxis and in a variety of stores,” said one expert who recently visited the North.

The cards require pre-payment in hard currency allowing the cash-strapped North to soak up foreign monies.

Despite chronic food shortages, consumer options are multiplying in Pyongyang as the regime seeks to maintain support among its upper class. Store shelves are stocked with products including previously rare items such as bananas and pineapples.

The growing use of the cards, analysts say, point to an emerging “middle class” comprised of people working for state institutions and as middle- and upper-management at factories.

Such citizens, who also have access to the North’s booming cell phone market, present the regime _ battling overall supply shortages _ with a quandary.

“They have now become more visible and, possibly, also more outspoken in the desire for consumption, since they know much more about the well-being of Chinese and South Koreans,” a frequent visitor to the North said.

The new consumer culture is part of the nation’s updating of the economy under Kim, who has boldly promised that citizens will no longer have to “tighten their belts.” Experts say the regime is searching for ways to implement measures to curb inflation and draw more foreign investment.

Technology, including the debit cards, figures heavily in his plan. The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers’ Party, singled out the cards in a commentary piece this week.

“To popularize the use of electronic cards has important significance to the development of the national economy and to improve the people’s material and cultural life,” it said.

Reports say that Pyongyang may issue a new card that only allows the use of the local won in a bid to prevent further devaluation. According the Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun, state salaries will be paid through the cards.

But some believe the growing interest in technology and consumerism could present challenges to the regime, underscoring a wealth divide between Pyongyang and provincial areas that could brew discontent. <The Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>