A member of a civic organization holds up a card reading ″Starbucks OUT″ in front of a Starbucks cafe in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on May 27, 2026.NEWS1
Starbucks Korea will temporarily suspend sales of prepaid cards amid concerns that customers could exploit the company’s temporary full-refund policy for prepaid card balances through so-called card cashing schemes.
Starbucks Korea said it will temporarily halt sales of anonymous physical Starbucks cards from Thursday through June 14.
Sales of Starbucks e-card exchange vouchers available on online platforms will also be restricted during the period. Sales of 100,000 won ($70) vouchers will be suspended across all platforms, while restrictions on 10,000 won to 70,000 won vouchers will vary by platform.
Specifically, Giftishow Biz, operated by KT Alpha, suspended sales of Starbucks e-card exchange vouchers in denominations of 10,000 won, 20,000 won, 30,000 won, 50,000 won and 70,000 won. Platforms including 11Street, Auction and GS & Coupon also simultaneously halted sales of 100,000 won vouchers.
“We are temporarily suspending sales of high-value vouchers across all channels considering the possibility of abuse for cash conversion,” a Starbucks Korea representative said.
Earlier this week, Starbucks announced that it would temporarily offer full refunds on prepaid card balances for two weeks from Monday through June 14 at customers’ request regardless of how much of the balance had been used, following a wave of refund demands related to the “Tank Day” controversy. Previously, refunds were available only after at least 60 percent of the prepaid balance had been spent.
Following the announcement, reports emerged that some people on secondhand trading platforms were attempting to buy Starbucks cards and exchange vouchers below face value and then receive full refunds for profit.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
![A member of a civic organization holds up a card reading ″Starbucks OUT″ in front of a Starbucks cafe in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on May 27, 2026. [NEWS1]](https://image.koreajoongangdaily.com/12604387.webp?imageId=12604387&width=960&height=496&format=jpg)
