A family-owned Korean supermarket chain in Hawaii is highlighting a local debit card rewards program that gives shoppers cash back at small businesses, a plus for families squeezed by rising prices.

• Palama Supermarket, a Korean grocery chain founded by first-generation immigrants nearly 50 years ago, now runs three stores across Oahu.
• The store makes fresh Korean food daily, including kimbap, meat jun, and Korean barbecue meats, and offers catering.
• American Savings Bank's "Buy Local Hawaiʻi" program partners with over 150 local merchants, including Palama, to give cardholders discounts when they use an ASB Visa debit card.
• Shoppers get money back at Palama and nearby local businesses like a coffee shop, an Italian restaurant, and a boba shop just by paying with the ASB debit card.
• The program is framed as a way to help local families save money on food and goods amid rising costs.

Outlook: Expect continued promotion of local shop-local savings programs as households look for ways to offset higher grocery and living costs.