Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
JB Financial to offer non-face-to-face banking for foreign residents
Park Jong-choon, front row right, vice president and head of the AI transformation division at JB Financial Group, poses with lawmakers, government officials and other banking officials during a forum on expanding financial access for foreign nationals at the National Assembly in Seoul, March 23. Among them are Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Rep. Ahn Do-geol, front row second from left, and Rep. Lee Jung-mun, front row center. Courtesy of JB Financial Group
By Lee Hyo-jin
JB Financial Group will expand financial services for foreign residents in Korea through a pilot program enabling non-face-to-face account opening, the group said Sunday.
The initiative, unveiled March 23 at a National Assembly forum, seeks to allow long-term foreign residents and overseas Koreans to open low-limit bank accounts remotely using passport information and biometric authentication before receiving an residence card.
The move is aimed at closing a gap in access to basic financial services during the initial settlement period.
As it can take up to two months for foreign nationals to obtain residence cards after arrival, many are left without bank accounts during that time, limiting access to essential services such as online shopping, telecommunications and delivery platforms.
"While the number of foreign residents in Korea has already surpassed 2.6 million and is approaching 3 million, many still struggle to open bank accounts in the early stages of their stay," said Park Jong-choon, vice president and head of the AI transformation division at JB Financial Group.
"Limited access to financial services not only hinders their settlement in Korea, but can also become a barrier to regional economic growth as it hinders attraction of foreign talent," he said.
Park added that financial services for foreign residents represent a market with significant growth potential and should not be seen merely as an issue affecting only a minor segment of the market.
According to the financial group, the planned system aims to enable foreign nationals to open limited-transaction accounts by using their temporary identification numbers, passport information and multimodal biometric authentication, such as facial recognition and fingerprints.
The system uses biometric data collected during immigration by the Ministry of Justice, removing the need for additional data storage.
The group's banking affiliates, Jeonbuk Bank and Kwangju Bank, plan to submit the scheme to the Financial Services Commission for designation under the commission's regulatory sandbox program.
The banks will impose safeguards, including transaction limits and restricting eligibility to foreign nationals allowed to stay longer than 91 days.