"How many credit cards do you have? If you're confused about meeting your targets... the answer is here"

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The average South Korean adult holds 4 to 5 credit cards. However, they actually use only 1 or 2. While many apply for multiple cards to take advantage of initial sign-up benefits, managing usage records proves difficult, leading consumers to rely on just one card. As a result, consumers end up paying unnecessary annual fees, while card issuers face declining profitability due to an increase in dormant cards.

A service has emerged that solves this problem while also providing benefits to consumers. It is 'CandyPay', a multi-card simultaneous payment solution developed by the fintech startup AtOneS.

In an interview with MoneyToday's startup media platform Unicorn Factory, Jung Jae-cheol, CEO of AtOneS, stated, "Most consumers carefully weigh the benefits at the card issuance stage, but often forget them when making payments, missing out on meeting their targets." He added, "We recognized the need for a solution to address this recurring issue in daily life and decided to launch the company."

=Most consumers check whether they have met their usage targets for each card individually and then request merchants to split the payment accordingly. The cancellation and refund process is also cumbersome, meaning the service is practically limited to offline stores only.

Jeong (CEO) said, "Even in department stores, splitting payments is allowed for up to two cards at most, and some busy stores prohibit installment payments entirely." He added, "Furthermore, online shopping malls generally do not support multiple-card payments because large transaction amounts can lead to errors."

AtOneS's CandyPay allows users to scan a QR code and split the payment across multiple credit cards for any desired amount in a single transaction. Since its launch last August, cumulative users have exceeded 2,000, with total payment volume reaching approximately 220 million won.

Jeong (CEO) emphasized, "If consumers repeatedly fail to meet their card usage targets due to small shortfalls of a few hundred won, they eventually stop using the cards altogether." He noted that CandyPay is the world's first model for multi-card simultaneous payment solutions.

The merchant fee rate for CandyPay is 2.5% of the transaction amount. While slightly higher than standard card company rates, it has received high satisfaction among small business owners. Jeong (CEO) stated, "Store owners have praised how CandyPay resolved the cumbersome process of split payments." He also added, "We have received positive feedback from customers who were surprised to see immediate settlement, relieving their burden over high interior renovation costs."

AtOneS has also launched 'CandyAI', an AI-powered payment recommendation service. When consumers register their credit and debit cards, the system instantly recommends the card that offers the greatest benefit at the moment of payment. The service gained attention after being demonstrated at 'Korea Fintech Week 2025' late last year.

Jeong (CEO) explained, "The core of CandyAI is its ability to automatically analyze and secure card-specific discount benefits that are easily overlooked." He added, "This is significant because it enables consumers to make rational spending decisions while helping the financial industry address the chronic issue of increasing dormant cards."

The service is also being enhanced to automatically split payments by the exact amount needed to meet each card's usage target. For example, if Card A needs 40,000 won and Card B needs 20,000 won more to meet their respective targets, CandyPay will automatically process separate payments to fulfill those requirements.

Jeong (CEO) stated, "Our goal is to expand the target-matched automatic payment feature into a formal service through MyData registration or application for the regulatory sandbox." He added, "In the future, we plan to build a hyper-personalized financial service system that includes monitoring features allowing consumers to receive 100% tax deductions on card income."

[MoneyToday startup media platform Unicorn Factory]