Bank Wallet Kakao (Banka), the mobile financial service of KakaoTalk, will increase their charge and wire transfer limits during the next month. (Image : Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 17 (Korea Bizwire) - Bank Wallet Kakao (Banka), the mobile financial service of KakaoTalk, will increase their charge and wire transfer limits during the next month.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), 17 domestic banks and the Korea Post have partnered with Banka. All 18 members of the alliance are rewriting the terms and conditions for Banka, and the FSS is expected to give its approval next week.
The Banka service launched last November. As of July, 880,000 individuals had signed up for the service, and the amount of money transferred was 13.2 billion won. The total value of payments processed through the service was low at only 2.7 billion won.
Officials acknowledged the service’s shortcomings: “Even though Banka is the number one Fintech service launched in Korea, the number of users remains low, and the results of usage are poor. Experts believe this is because of the current transfer limits. We plan expand the limits to boost the service.”
The 18 financial corporations are planning to expand limits from 500,000 won to 2,000,000 won. The limit for wiring money through Banka will also be enlarged from 100,000 won to 300,000 won.
In addition, the Banka app will be integrated with KakaoTalk. This means that making payments could be possible on KakaoTalk without opening the Banka app. An additional feature that allows users to claim money from the bank is also moving forward. This feature will be used for paying dutch after having a meal with friends, or getting allowance from parents.
Financial authorities expect that Daum Kakao will evolve Banka so that it can be used to make payments for Kakao Taxi and other living necessities.
However, authorities are also looking at the dark side of the new service. Expanding transaction limits could lead to larger losses when financial accidents occur. Also, if friend lists are hacked after the integration with KakaoTalk, it could lead to financial fraud and other crimes.
Authorities plan to prevent crimes beforehand. “We are lowering regulations for the convenience of users and to activate Fintech. However, we are aware that this could also lead to financial crimes. We will monitor any suspicious traffic, and set preventions so that the enhancement of the system will not lead to financial fraud.”
By Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
