Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Banks' race for open banking app overheated
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By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
Domestic lenders' competition to get the upper hand in the nation's open banking app market is overheating.
According to industry sources, commercial banks made some form of “gentlemen's agreement” under which they would not promote their open banking apps before they were officially rolled out Oct. 30.
However, Shinhan broke the deal by encouraging customers to register their accounts with other banks from Oct. 25, an official from one of the major lenders, asking not to be named, said.
“Each bank's digital division head promised each other not to promote their open banking apps before the official launch date, but Shinhan broke the deal,” the official said.
“The deal was non-binding, so there's not much we can do about it. But Shinhan's move was very disappointing.”
Shinhan denied the allegations.
“There was no such agreement at all,” a Shinhan Bank official said. “It is true Shinhan promoted its open banking app beforehand for a smooth transition, but we never agreed to such a deal.”
Woori and KEB Hana Bank are also facing mounting customer complaints over the poor quality of their open banking apps.
Customers of the two banks are only allowed to transfer money from other banks to Woori and KEB Hana Bank via their open banking apps. They can't transfer money from other banks to a third-party bank account.
A Woori Bank official said it doesn't have a plan to offer the wire transfer service from other banks to a third-party bank anytime soon.
“Such a transfer service from other banks to a third party requires various safety measures, including fraud detection and an anti-money laundering system,” the official said.
Unlike Woori, KEB Hana Bank said it will soon offer the wire transfer service via its open banking app.
Internet-only banks said they will not be able to introduce open banking apps by the end of this year.
“They haven't fully featured banking-related security systems for an open banking system,” an industry insider said.
The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said it aims to bring innovative changes to the payment culture and industry by widening consumer choices beyond traditional lenders.
On Oct. 30, 10 commercial banks took part in the preliminary open banking app service. The remaining eight lenders, including internet-only banks, said they will introduce their open banking apps soon.
The open banking system will be fully launched Dec. 18 after the 50-day pilot period.