Fintech, a portmanteau of the words ‘finance’ and ‘technology’, refers to the use of IT services to replace traditional human-based processes or interaction, examples of which include internet payment systems such as Paypal. Similar services are found in South Korea including Samsung Pay and Kakao Pay. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Jun. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — The rise of fintech is reshaping the landscape of the South Korean financial industry.
Fintech, a portmanteau of the words ‘finance’ and ‘technology’, refers to the use of IT services to replace traditional human-based processes or interaction, examples of which include internet payment systems such as Paypal. Similar services are found in South Korea including Samsung Pay and Kakao Pay.
Over the last four years however, companies in the finance and insurance sectors have completely transformed the way they do business, with nearly 52,000 staff members and independent insurance agents losing their jobs, a trend industry experts believe has a strong connection to the growing adoption of fintech.
Along with companies in the finance and insurance sectors, other traditional occupations such as brokers and insurance agents have seen job losses while IT jobs such as ones concerning cyber security have emerged due to growing demand, according to a 2017 report on human resources in the finance and insurance industry published by the Industry Skills Council on Wednesday.
The report also revealed a negative forecast on the prospect of some banking and finance jobs, based on the growing number of non-face-to-face banking transactions in the country.
Amid a decline in the number of traditional offline bank branches, traditional teller jobs and others based on in-person interaction are expected to become even more scarce in the future.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
