The Financial Supervisory Service. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 9 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean banks will offer English mobile applications and documents this year to help foreign residents get better access to banking services and reduce their inconvenience, the financial watchdog said Wednesday.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), the number of foreign customers at local banks stood at 8.13 million last year, steadily rising from 7.14 million in 2021 to 7.41 million in 2022 and 7.76 million the following year.
The FSS said local banks plan to offer English versions of their mobile applications for foreign customers, as well as English documents needed for banking services.
They will also allow more letters for names and others to be filled in by foreign customers needed for identification authentication, the watchdog said. Currently, the number of letters is set at 20.
Local banks will provide more details of foreign customer-customized branches on their websites as well.
Banks will offer more information on loans and interest rates for foreign customers, such as favored rates and any changes in interest rates, according to the FSS.
(Yonhap)
