Shinhan Bank seeking leadership in FinTech

A Shinhan Bank employee demonstrates how to use an electronic filing service (EFS), which enables customers to subscribe to diverse financial products via tablets. / Courtesy of Shinhan Bank

By Yoon Ja-young

FinTech, or financial technology, is expected to change the landscape of the financial industry. Online platform leaders ranging from messenger and social networking services (SNS) to online shopping malls and game sites are jumping into the arena, while global ICT companies from the United States and China are seeking advancement into Korea’s payment and settlement market through alliances with local players.

Shinhan Bank, which has been leading innovation in the country’s financial industry, is seeing FinTech as a new opportunity.

The bank jointly launched “My Shinhan Pay” with a payment gateway company in July, for the first time among local banks. With the service, customers can directly make payments from their bank account using the Shinhan S Bank application in their smartphones, without having to carry cards or cash.

It also started USIM smart authentication service for the first time in the industry, through alliances with mobile carriers and online security companies. It notably strengthened security in smart financing, which users have been most concerned about. Shinhan led the T-commerce market as well, launching TV Money and TV Bank services jointly with TV platform companies last year.

The bank is bolstering its effort in the FinTech area this year. It set up a task force within the bank to create new value through alliances with leaders from diverse industries. It is also considering launching an incubation program to nurture start-ups in the FinTech sector.

Shinhan is also focusing on expanding TV Money, to continue its leadership in the T-commerce market. Its priority is to provide optimized smart payment services for TV home-shopping customers. It signed an agreement with Hyundai Home Shopping, enabling users to make payments with TV Money without exposing their credit card number. The service is scheduled to launch in the first quarter of this year.

As indirect channels are increasingly replacing direct channels, Shinhan is focusing on setting an omni-channel where customers can get equal services through any channel they choose.

For instance, the bank started electronic filing service (EFS) from February, which enables customers to subscribe to diverse financial products using tablets.

“On top of setting up the omni-channel to actively prepare for the changes in the market, we plan to help FinTech startups turn their ideas into products. We will strengthen our efforts in this field,” a spokesman for Shinhan Bank said.