KakaoBank simplifies banking for foreign residents with mobile account service

By Jun Ji-hye

• Published Nov 12, 2026 4:01 PM KST

Internet lender attracts 20,000 foreign resident accounts in 1st month

KakaoBank’s account service for foreign residents attracted 20,000 accounts in its first month, drawing customers from 124 countries, the bank said Thursday.

Introduced in October, the account is available to foreign residents aged 19 and older and can be opened through the bank’s app in about five minutes. Customers can also apply for debit cards and send money overseas through the app without visiting a branch.

The bank streamlines registration through the government’s Public MyData service, which retrieves personal details such as names, nationalities, addresses and occupations. The service allows users to access their administrative records held by public institutions or request that those records be shared with third parties.

Applicants can also submit required documents, including employment certificates and pay statements, directly through the app.

Myanmar nationals accounted for the largest share of account holders at 30.3 percent, followed by Chinese nationals at 18 percent, Vietnamese at 16.6 percent, Thai at 4.8 percent and Japanese at 4.6 percent.

By purpose of stay, international students accounted for 37.8 percent of customers. Those residing in Korea for work made up 26.3 percent, while marriage immigrants represented 12.7 percent.

Separately, 21,000 people used KakaoBank’s artificial intelligence-powered translation service. English accounted for 61.3 percent of usage, followed by Vietnamese at 23.7 percent and Chinese at 15 percent.

The internet-only bank plans to expand its offerings for foreign residents next year to include savings products, open banking and loan comparison services.

“We will expand our services so foreign residents can meet their banking needs in Korea through our app,” a KakaoBank official said.