Payment delays at TMON and WeMakePrice raise concerns

Mr. Choi (age 33), who runs an agricultural corporation in Hanam-si, Gyeonggi-do, received notice from social commerce platform TMON on Wednesday that he would not be able to receive 340 million won in sales payment for May. TMON explained that the company was not handling settlement of sales proceeds due to internal circumstances. “I have much to pay out, from employees’ salaries to office expenses and loans. I can’t eat or sleep because the settlement of sales proceeds for June and July appears to be unlikely as well,” said Choi.

Affiliates of Singapore e-commerce business Q10, TMON and WeMakePrice continue to experience delays in seller settlement, increasing the number of sellers that are impacted. With some sellers unable to receive payment for their sales from TMON and WeMakePrice by the end of the month nearing tax payment deadlines, many sellers are anxious about the impact to their financial state.

According to app and retail analysis service Wise App, Retail, Goods, the number of users of TMON and WeMakePrice as of last month reached 8.69 million. The combined monthly transaction volume of the two companies is estimated to exceed 1 trillion won. Experts in the industry are concerned that the overall impact to the economy may be serious if the situation continues. Some say that cash flow of the businesses is growing worse with more sellers leaving the channels.


김은지 기자 eunji@donga.com