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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

'Open Finance' at heart of Woori's digital strategy

Members of fintech startups hold a meeting with Woori Bank officials at Dinno Lab in Yeouido, Seoul in this file photo. / Courtesy of Woori BankBank tears down walls for service developmentThis is the third in a series of articles highlighting major financial groups' strategies for digital transformation. ― ED.By Kim Bo-eunWoori Bank's digital strategy is all about opening up its data, functions and customer base, according to the bank's chief digital officer (CDO).“Banks no longer keep technology and ideas exclusively to themselves. They need to develop products and services together with partners and customers, and need to tear down walls to enable this,” Woori Bank's CDO Hwang Weon-cheol told The Korea Times in a recent interview.“This is done through opening up our customer data, allowing access to proprietary software under our open application programming interface (API), and sharing our customer base,” he said.An API provides developers with program access to a proprietary software application or web service.Woori Bank is cooperating with personal finan

Jul 14, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
'Open Finance' at heart of Woori's digital strategy

Card firms axe sales jobs amid digitization

Stickers show credit cards that can be used at a restaurant in central Seoul in this file photo. Card firms are reducing the number of salespeople amid digitization and falling profit margin. Korea Times fileBy Kim Bo-eunCard issuers are reducing their number of salespeople due to a steady increase in digital transactions coupled with a deterioration in profit margins caused by the government's fee reduction policy. Data show that 849 salespeople were let go at seven card firms ― Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Samsung, Hyundai, Hana, Woori and Lotte ― in the first half of the year, shrinking their numbers to 11,856 in May from 12,607 in December.This appears to be a result of customers increasingly signing up for cards on websites and mobile applications.The card issuers have adopted artificial intelligence-based chatbots which recommend personalized products to customers. These also cut the costs of maintaining call center employees.Card firms need to cut costs because they are facing declining profits due to the government's policy to cut their transaction fees.The policy intended to cut fee

Jul 14, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Card firms axe sales jobs amid digitization

Startups benefit from Dinno Lab's test bed

Infosonic CEO Cho Hoon-taek demonstrates how the company's proximity data transmission technology using inaudible sound works, at Woori Bank's Dinno Lab in Yeouido, Seoul, May 29. Korea Times photo by Kim Bo-eun By Kim Bo-eunWhat startups need most is a test bed through which they can test their technology and receive feedback, according to those in the field. “Because the finance sector is highly conservative, companies have a lot of doubt about new technology,” Infosonic CEO Cho Hoon-taek said. “The first question they ask is if we have a reference.”“This is what frustrates tech startups, because the first key step for us is to be able to try out our technology. This is the starting point, after which we can improve features through feedback, but there are few opportunities to do this.”This is a key form of support Dinno Lab and other similar fintech fostering initiatives by other financial groups offer.And this is what prompted Infosonic to join Dinno Lab's prog

Jul 14, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Startups benefit from Dinno Lab's test bed

Agreement for digital receipts

BC Card's Executive Vice President of Marketing Kim Jin-cheol, left, poses with The Real Marketing CEO Son Jong-hee, after the two signed an agreement on issuing digital receipts, at BC Card's headquarters in southern Seoul, Thursday. The initiative aims to reduce the use of paper receipts and protect the environment. / Courtesy of BC Card

Jul 12, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Agreement for digital receipts

Kakao Bank's customers exceed 10 million in two years

By Kim Bo-eunThe number of Kakao Bank's customers has exceeded 10 million, just two years after its establishment, the bank said Friday. Kakao Bank, one of two internet-only banks here, had 10 million customers as of July 11. The bank started customer services on July 27, 2017. Customers were defined as those who have opened an account, as people can use other services offered by Kakao Bank without signing up for an account.With the exception of internet banks in China, this is the fastest rate of growth in customers of internet banks worldwide. China was excluded because of the sheer scale of its population.“Considering the size of Korea's population, 10 million is not a small number. It is significant to us in that we achieved this mark in a short period,” a bank official said. Korea's population is around 50 million.“While this could be attributed to the brand of Kakao, we believe this was possible due to the convenience of the services we offer,” he said. Kakao, the dominant mobile messaging app here, has grown into an IT conglomerate.Kakao Bank said that

Jul 12, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Kakao Bank's customers exceed 10 million in two years

Woori to launch center for pension fund management

The Woori Bank's head office in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Park Jae-hyukWoori Bank will open a center for pension fund management Monday, to improve its customers' return on assets, the bank said Friday.According to Woori, the center will be a comprehensive consulting center staffed by 30 advisors specializing in private banking. The bank's division for pension funds will be in charge of its operation.In order to offer a personalized advice to each customer, Woori said the center will categorize its customers into three groups ― those who own products near maturity, those who own products with low interest rates and those who suffer losses.“Pension fund customers need experts who can give them advice tailored to their choice of products and asset management,” a Woori Bank official said. “By providing them with comprehensive consulting services for better profitability, we will help our customers increase their financial assets for retirement.”Woori Financial Group, the holding company of Woori Bank, has been working to better meet customers' growing needs for

Jul 12, 2019By Park Jae-hyuk
Woori to launch center for pension fund management

Shinhan defending 'leading bank' title from KB

By Park Jae-hyukShinhan Financial Group will likely maintain its position as the nation's top financial group for three consecutive quarters, as it is expected to beat out its competitor KB Financial Group by a narrow margin in second-quarter earnings, analysts and brokerages said Thursday.They also said Hana Financial Group will regain its status as the third-largest player, surpassing Woori Financial Group which took third place in first-quarter earnings.According to online market research service provider FnGuide, the market consensus among domestic securities firms showed that Shinhan will post a second-quarter net profit of 976.3 billion won ($826 million), up 3 percent from a year earlier.KB's quarterly net income is estimated at 943.2 billion won, down 0.4 percent year-on-year.The two giant banking groups have engaged in a fierce battle over the past few years to win the “leading bank” title. Before Shinhan recouped the top spot in the fourth quarter of 2018, KB had maintained the lead for six consecutive quarters.Analysts cited Shinhan's aggressive M&A strateg

Jul 12, 2019By Park Jae-hyuk
Shinhan defending 'leading bank' title from KB

Japan-based Sanwa Money halts credit loans for 5 months

Sanwa Money head office in Gangnam-gu, Seoul / YonhapBy Jhoo Dong-chanJapan-based private moneylender Sanwa Money has halted new loans to Korean customers for five months, sources said Thursday.This came as the largest private moneylender active in Korea, which stopped granting new loans on March 1, suffered a deteriorating margin since the government has been continuously lowering the maximum legal interest rate limit for years.The suspension of the loan business here could also be affected by the Japanese lender's massive losses from its investment in Turkish bonds in May 2018. The Korea Investors Service said Sanwha Money sustained 123 billion won ($105 million) worth of losses from its investment in Turkey.“Apart from larger ones such as Sanwa and Rush & Cash, most private moneylenders have suspended granting new loans over the past few years due to a series of government moves to lower the maximum legal interest rate,” said a savings bank official who asked not to be identified.“I understand these firms, now including Sanwa, are engaging in debt collection

Jul 11, 2019By Jhoo Dong-chan
Japan-based Sanwa Money halts credit loans for 5 months

Mirae Asset excels in overseas bond investment

Mirae Asset Global Investment has shown an outstanding performance in investment in overseas bonds on the back of its extensive overseas network and system.Mirae Asset Global Dynamic Fund, launched in June 2009, seeks high return and stability. With a set amount of 1.3 trillion won, it is the largest in scale among domestic funds investing in overseas bonds.The fund selects high-quality bonds around the world and is currently investing in over 500 global bonds in 50 countries.The fund has recorded 83.37 percent in yield since its launch, which amounts to an annual average of 8 percent.What also sets the fund apart from others is its low standard deviation in its return. The average annual standard deviation of the fund is below 2 percent, recording the lowest level of volatility among overseas bond funds that have been on the market for one to five years.A low standard deviation is an indicator of the stable operation of the fund. This is because the lower the standard deviation, the lower the volatility and hence the steadier the return.The achievement of this fund is attributed to

Jul 11, 2019
Mirae Asset excels in overseas bond investment

Hana's daycare center in Gwangju

Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Ham Young-joo, third from right, waters plants with Park Seung, head of the group's social contribution committee, fourth from left, and other guests and children at a daycare center that opened at a KEB Hana Bank branch in Gwangju, Thursday. Hana's daycare center will accept children of employees of small- and medium-sized enterprises based in Gwangju. / Courtesy of KEB Hana Bank

Jul 11, 2019By Kim Bo-eun
Hana's daycare center in Gwangju
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