How many Korean bank branches offer services outside standard hours, and how many open on weekends?

Of the 5,466 branches in Korea at the end of September, 991 offered services outside standard banking hours. Only 10.6 percent of those extended-hours locations opened on weekends, and 40.3 percent were in the Seoul metropolitan area.

What changes to Korean bank opening times are planned for April next year, and why are they raising access concerns?

Banks are set to move their opening time from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. from April next year. Officials said the shift could make it harder for customers to access in-person services outside conventional business hours, as the branch network continues to shrink.

What flexible banking services do banks in Singapore and Japan offer customers who cannot visit during regular hours?

HSBC branches in Singapore adjust hours based on services, including cash transactions and consultations on accounts and wealth management. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group offers appointments outside regular hours for housing loans and insurance, as well as weekend home visits for elderly customers and others who have difficulty getting to a branch.

Korea to expand flexible-hour bank branches ahead of shorter banking hours

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Summary

The Financial Supervisory Service plans to work with the Financial Services Commission and banks to expand branches’ extended hours, weekend services and service offerings in Korea. The effort comes as the branch network shrinks and banks prepare to open 30 minutes later, at 9:30 a.m., from April next year. Officials also reviewed overseas approaches, including weekend banking and appointments outside regular hours.

Key Facts

Korea had 5,466 bank branches at the end of September, down from 5,831 at the end of 2022, according to the FSS.
Only 991 branches offered services outside standard banking hours; 40.3 percent of those locations were in the Seoul metropolitan area, and 10.6 percent opened on weekends.
As of the end of 2025, 85.9 percent of JPMorgan Chase’s 5,071 U.S. branches and 50.9 percent of Bank of America’s 3,605 branches offered weekend services.
In Singapore, all DBS and OCBC branches providing regular over-the-counter services opened on weekends, with 20 DBS locations and 28 OCBC locations.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group lets individual customers book appointments for services such as housing loans and insurance outside regular hours and offers weekend home visits to elderly customers and others who have difficulty reaching a branch.

By Park Han-sol

Published Nov 16, 2026 7:00 am KST

A customer speaks with a bank employee at a counter in Seoul on Aug. 14. Yonhap

Korea's financial watchdog plans to expand the number of bank branches offering extended hours and weekend services, seeking to make in-person banking more accessible as branch networks shrink and lenders prepare to push back their opening times next year, officials said Sunday.

At a meeting chaired by Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) Gov. Lee Chan-jin on Friday, the financial watchdog said that it would work with the Financial Services Commission and banks to expand the days and hours these branches operate and the range of services they provide.

The country's bank branch network has continued to shrink, falling to 5,466 locations at the end of September from 5,831 at the end of 2022, according to the FSS. Of these, only 991 offered services outside standard banking hours.

Access to staffed branches with extended hours is particularly limited. About 40.3 percent of these locations are in the Seoul metropolitan area, while only 10.6 percent open on weekends.

The need for more flexible banking services is expected to become more pressing from April next year, when banks are set to delay their opening time by 30 minutes, from 9 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. The change has raised concerns that customers may find it even harder to access in-person services outside conventional business hours.

At the meeting, officials also reviewed how banks in other countries serve customers who are unable to visit branches during regular business hours.

In the United States, 85.9 percent of JPMorgan Chase's 5,071 branches and 50.9 percent of Bank of America's 3,605 branches offered weekend services as of the end of 2025. In Singapore, all DBS and OCBC branches providing regular over-the-counter services opened on weekends, with 20 and 28 locations, respectively.

Some banks have adopted more tailored arrangements. HSBC branches in Singapore, for example, adjust their hours according to the services they provide, including cash transactions and consultations on accounts and wealth management.

Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group allows individual customers to make appointments for services such as housing loans and insurance outside regular banking hours. It also offers weekend home visits for elderly customers and others who have difficulty getting to a branch.

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