
Naver Pay and Toss have integrated their own versions of this model, often referred to as deferred or postpaid payment services. While designed for convenient purchasing, a secondary, user-driven market has emerged: leveraging these short-term credit lines to access immediate cash. This process, often called “cashing out,” involves using the deferred payment limit to buy a liquid digital asset, typically a gift card and then reselling it for cash.
This guide provides a comprehensive, 2000-word exploration of the 3-step process for cashing out using Naver Pay and Toss deferred payments. We will delve into the mechanics of these services, the intricacies of each step, the critical risks involved, and the importance of navigating this process with caution and awareness. While this method can provide a lifeline in emergencies, it is a form of unsecured, high cost credit and must be approached with a full understanding of its potential consequences.
Understanding the Foundation: Naver Pay & Toss Deferred Payments
Before diving into the 3-step process, it’s crucial to understand the tools you are using. Deferred payment services from Naver Pay and Toss are not traditional loans. They are short-term, unsecured credit lines integrated directly into their respective payment platforms.
What is Naver Pay Deferred Payment? Naver Pay’s “Pay Later” service allows eligible users to make purchases now and pay for them on a designated date in the following month. The credit limit, typically starting around 300,000 KRW, is determined by Naver’s internal credit scoring system, which analyzes a user’s transaction history, membership tenure, and other platform activities. It is not directly linked to traditional credit scores from agencies like KCB or NICE, making it accessible to individuals who may be “thin-filers” (those with limited credit history). The primary purpose is to streamline e-commerce transactions within the vast Naver ecosystem.
What is Toss Deferred Payment? Similarly, Toss offers a postpaid payment feature (후불결제) that provides users with a small credit line for purchases see here . Like Naver Pay, the limit is often modest initially (up to 300,000 KRW) and is based on the user’s activity within the Toss platform. The service is designed for small-scale transactions, allowing users to complete purchases even if their connected bank account balance is low, with the settlement due the following month.
The key takeaway is that both services provide a temporary credit buffer. It is this buffer that users leverage to initiate the cashing-out process.
The 3-Step Cashing Out Process: A Detailed Walkthrough
Cashing out these deferred payment balances is a form of financial arbitrage. You are converting a line of credit designed for purchasing goods into liquid cash. The entire operation hinges on the purchase and subsequent sale of a digital asset that holds its value well and can be transferred and sold quickly. The most common asset used for this purpose is the digital gift card.
Step 1: Purchasing a Liquid Digital Asset (The Gift Card)
This initial step is the most critical. The goal is to use your Naver Pay or Toss deferred payment limit to acquire a digital good that is in high demand and can be easily resold.
A. Choosing the Right Platform and Gift Card: Your first task is to find an online marketplace or retailer that both:
- Accepts Naver Pay or Toss as a payment method.
- Sells digital gift cards that have a high resale value.
Popular choices for gift cards in the South Korean market include:
- Culture Land Gift Certificates : Highly versatile and widely accepted for games, online shopping, and more. They are the gold standard for cashing out due to their liquidity.
- Happy Money Gift Certificates : Similar to Culture Land, these are widely used for online services and are easy to resell.
- Google Play Gift Cards & Apple Gift Cards: Universally in demand for app, game, and media purchases.
- Department Store Gift Certificates (e.g., Shinsegae, Lotte): These also have high demand but may sometimes be slightly less liquid in the purely digital cashing market compared to Culture Land.
B. Executing the Purchase: The process is designed to be as simple as a standard online purchase.
- Navigate to the Retailer: Go to a website like 11st, Gmarket, TMON, or a specialized gift card retailer.
- Select the Gift Card: Choose the type and denomination of the gift card you wish to purchase. It is wise to purchase an amount close to your available deferred payment limit to maximize the cash you can extract, but never exceed it.
- Proceed to Checkout: At the payment screen, select either Naver Pay or Toss as your payment method.
- Select Deferred Payment: Within the Naver Pay or Toss payment interface, you will see an option to use your “Pay Later” or “Postpaid” balance. Select this option. You may need to enter your payment password or biometrics to authorize the transaction.
- Receive the Gift Card PIN: Once the transaction is approved, the digital gift card, which consists of a PIN code and serial number, will typically be sent to you via SMS, email, or directly within the retailer’s app.
Key Considerations for Step 1:
- Check Acceptance: Not all online retailers accept deferred payments for gift cards. This is a crucial first check. Some retailers may block this specific transaction type to prevent this very practice.
- Purchase Limits: Be aware of any daily or monthly purchase limits the retailer imposes on gift cards.
- Record Keeping: Immediately save the gift card PIN code. A screenshot or copying the text to a secure note is essential. This PIN is effectively digital cash.
Step 2: Finding and Vetting a Resale Platform or Broker
Once you have the digital gift card PIN, you have an asset. Now, you need a buyer. This step involves finding a service that will purchase the gift card from you and pay you in cash. This is where platforms like https://worldgift.xyz and numerous others come into play. These are essentially digital pawn shops for gift cards.
A. Types of Resale Platforms:
- Automated Purchasing Websites: These are the most common. They are specialized websites that offer to buy gift card PINs from individuals. You submit the PIN, they verify it, and then deposit money into your bank account. They make a profit by charging a commission or fee, which is reflected in the purchase price they offer.
- Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Marketplaces: These platforms connect individual sellers with individual buyers. While you might get a slightly better price, the process is slower and carries a higher risk of scams if there isn’t a reliable escrow service.
- Community Forums: Some online communities have dedicated sections for buying and selling gift cards. This is the riskiest method and is generally not recommended due to the high potential for fraud.
B. The Vetting Process: How to Choose a Safe Broker: This is where diligence is paramount to avoid being scammed. A fraudulent broker will simply take your gift card PIN and never send you the money.
- Check for Official Registration: A legitimate broker in South Korea should operate as a registered business. Look for a business registration number (사업자등록번호) and other official company details on their website.
- Analyze the Buyback Rate (The Fee): The fee is the percentage the broker takes. If a gift card has a face value of 100,000 KRW, a broker might offer you 85,000 to 92,000 KRW for it. The fee is therefore 8-15%. Be extremely wary of services offering unrealistically high rates (e.g., 98-99%). This is a classic lure used by scammers. Conversely, excessively low rates (e.g., 70%) are predatory.
- Look for Longevity and Reputation: Search for online reviews, but do so with a critical eye. Search for the company’s name in online forums and communities to see what real users are saying. A company that has been operating for several years is generally more reliable.
- Test Their Customer Service: Before committing, try contacting their customer support (often via KakaoTalk or a phone call). Assess their professionalism and response time. A legitimate business will communicate clearly and professionally.
- Ensure a Secure Website: The website must use HTTPS (the padlock icon in the address bar) to ensure your data is encrypted.
Step 3: Executing the Sale and Receiving the Cash
This final step is the culmination of the process. It involves safely transferring your gift card PIN to the chosen broker and receiving your funds.
A. The Sale Process:
- Initiate the Sale on the Broker’s Website: Go to the vetted broker’s website. There will usually be a simple online form.
- Enter the Gift Card Details: You will need to input the type of gift card (e.g., Culture Land), its face value, and the PIN code.
- Provide Your Information: You will also need to provide your name (as it appears on your bank account) and your bank account number for the deposit. The broker needs this to verify they are paying the right person and to send the funds.
- Submit and Await Verification: After you submit the form, the broker’s system will automatically and instantly attempt to redeem the gift card PIN. This verification process confirms that the PIN is valid and has the stated value. This is the point of no return.
- Confirmation and Deposit: Once verified, the system will trigger a bank transfer to your account. For most professional services, this entire process from submission to receiving the cash takes between 5 and 15 minutes. You will receive a confirmation message, and the funds will appear in your bank account.
The amount you receive will be the face value of the gift card minus the broker’s commission fee. For example, for a 100,000 KRW gift card, after a 12% fee, you would receive 88,000 KRW in cash.
Critical Risks and Considerations
While the 3-step process seems straightforward, it is laden with significant risks that every user must understand before proceeding.
- High Effective Interest Rate: This is not free money. It is a loan. The fee you pay to the resale broker is effectively the interest on a very short-term loan. A 12% fee on a loan you must repay in about 30 days translates to an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of over 140%. This is extremely expensive compared to traditional credit products.
- Risk of Scams: The resale market is a prime target for fraudsters. If you are not meticulous in vetting your broker (Step 2), you risk losing the entire value of your gift card with no recourse.
- Violation of Terms of Service: Naver and Toss explicitly state in their terms of service that their deferred payment features are for the bona fide purchase of goods and services, not for cash conversion (“현금 융통”). Engaging in this practice, often termed “깡,” can lead to penalties, including the suspension of your deferred payment service, or even your entire Naver/Toss account.
- Debt Cycle Risk: The ease and speed of this process can be deceptive. It can be tempting to use it for non-essential spending, leading to a cycle of debt. Because you must pay the full amount back to Naver or Toss the following month, failure to do so will result in late fees, negative reporting, and potential collections activity.
- No Consumer Protections: Unlike a regulated loan from a bank, this process offers almost no consumer protection. If a transaction with a broker goes wrong, resolving the dispute is incredibly difficult.
How-to Guide: A Quick Example
Let’s walk through a concise example:
- Scenario: You need 85,000 KRW for an urgent expense and have a 300,000 KRW deferred payment limit on Naver Pay.
- Step 1: Purchase
- You go to a site like Gmarket and find a 100,000 KRW Culture Land digital gift card.
- At checkout, you select Naver Pay and choose the “Pay Later” option.
- You receive an SMS with the 16-digit PIN for the gift card.
- Step 2: Vet & Choose Broker
- You research three gift card purchasing sites. Site A offers a 95% rate (scam suspicion), Site B offers an 80% rate (too low), and Site C has good reviews, has been in business for 3 years, and offers an 88% rate (12% fee).
- You choose Site C.
- Step 3: Sell & Receive Cash
- On Site C’s website, you enter “Culture Land,” “100,000 KRW,” and the PIN.
- You provide your name and bank account number.
- You submit the application. Within 10 minutes, the site verifies the PIN, and you receive a deposit of 88,000 KRW in your bank account.
- The Repayment: The following month, on Naver Pay’s designated payment date, 100,000 KRW will be automatically debited from your connected bank account to settle the deferred payment. Your total cost for accessing 88,000 KRW for a few weeks was 12,000 KRW.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is cashing out Naver Pay or Toss deferred payments illegal? A: It generally exists in a legal gray area. While the act itself is not explicitly criminalized for the individual user in the same way as loan-sharking, it is a direct violation of the terms of service of Naver and Toss. Furthermore, facilitating this as an unregistered business can be illegal. For the user, the primary risk is account suspension rather than legal prosecution, but it is not a sanctioned financial practice.
Q: What are the typical fees for cashing out gift cards? A: The fees, or the discount from face value, typically range from 8% to 15%. This depends on the type of gift card (more popular ones have lower fees) and the broker you use. Anything outside this range should be treated with extreme suspicion.
Q: What happens if I can’t pay back Naver Pay or Toss on time? A: You will be charged late fees, and your deferred payment service will be immediately suspended. Continued failure to pay will negatively impact your internal platform credit score and could eventually be handed over to a collections agency, which can affect your broader financial standing.
Q: Can I increase my deferred payment limit? A: Yes, both Naver and Toss may automatically increase your limit over time based on consistent usage and timely repayments. However, you should never try to “game” the system or request an increase solely for the purpose of cashing out a larger amount, as this can be a red flag.
Q: Is it safer to use one gift card over another? A: Yes. Gift cards like Culture Land and Happy Money are generally the safest and most liquid options. They are processed quickly by most brokers. Department store or brand-specific gift cards might have slightly higher fees or slower processing times as they have a more limited resale market.
Conclusion
The 3-step process of using Naver Pay and Toss deferred payments to acquire and resell digital gift cards is a powerful but perilous tool for accessing immediate cash. It offers a modern, tech-driven alternative to payday loans for those who may not have access to traditional credit. However, its convenience masks the extremely high effective cost and the significant risks of scams and debt cycles. A smart user approaches this method not as a regular financial tool, but as a last-resort emergency option. By thoroughly vetting resale brokers, understanding the high fees involved, and having a concrete plan to repay the full amount to Naver or Toss on time, you can navigate this process with a degree of safety. Ultimately, responsibility and caution are the keys to using this method without falling into a financial trap.