Banks open branches tailored for foreigners

An employee attends to foreign customers at Shinhan Bank's branch in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, in this file photo. / Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

By Kim Bo-eun

Local banks are ramping up efforts to better meet the needs of existing foreign customers and attract new ones, as the number of foreign residents here grows.

Data show the number of foreign customers of the five major banks here _ Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Woori, KEB Hana and Nonghyup _ surpassed 5 million at the end of 2018.

The banks are paying attention to remittance services, as this is one of the main services foreign customers seek. They transferred a total of 2.98 trillion won overseas last year.

The banks are especially focusing on addressing the needs of migrant workers here, for whom it is difficult to visit banks on weekdays. They are designating branches in regions with large migrant worker populations such as in Gyeonggi Province, to open on Sundays.

In April, Shinhan designated a branch in the city of Gimhae in South Gyeongsang Province as a branch operating on Sundays.

Customers can send funds overseas, exchange currency and open accounts there.

This is the fourth branch Shinhan has opened for migrant workers.

Woori Bank is operating 11 branches for foreign customers that open on Sundays.

KEB Hana Bank runs 19 branches that open on Sundays, with the one in Gwangju opening most recently last week.

Hana has the largest market share among foreign customers at 50 to 60 percent.

Based on this, the bank is taking further steps to tailor to their needs.

It opened a branch in Cheonan, May 20, which offers Korean language classes and various community programs. It also has a cooking zone and library that foreigners can use for events.

In addition, the branch offers free dental and medical services in partnership with clinics in the vicinity.

The branch in Cheonan is the fifth of a series of special banks Hana opened, and the first to open outside of Seoul.

“Around 27,000 foreigners reside in the city of Cheonan, so we joined hands with the local government to offer a space catering to their needs,” a KEB Hana official said.

“Because the number of foreign customers is growing, we are offering various programs including online banking services, so that customers can opt for whatever suits them,” he said.

Hana plans to launch additional customized financial services for the 40,000 foreigners residing in Cheonan and neighboring city of Asan.

At the same time, the banks are also improving mobile services so that customers also have the option of transferring funds more conveniently.

Earlier this month, Woori launched a mobile remittance service for foreign customers, which enable them to transfer money simply by entering the bank and account number, without having to input a bank code or address.

The service is available through Woori Bank's application for foreign customers, in eight languages including English and Vietnamese.