Korea’s First Direct Bank Attracts over 60,000 Accounts in Just 2 Days

K-Bank, formed by a consortium of KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other companies, began its operations at midnight Sunday. (image: Yonhap)

SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s first Internet-only bank, K-Bank, has attracted more than 60,000 accounts in just two days since launching operations, the lender said Tuesday. 

K-Bank, formed by a consortium of KT Corp., Woori Bank and 19 other companies, began its operations at midnight Sunday. 

The pace of growth in K-Bank’s customer base appears to be faster than originally expected. The average monthly number of new Internet banking accounts by the nation’s 16 commercial banks stood at about 12,000. 

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, K-Bank attracted a total of 61,501 accounts, issued a total of 53,960 debit cards and made loans to 4,123 accounts, according to the bank. 

Internet banks offer banking and other financial services without physical branch networks. 

K-Bank, which will be opened around the clock, offers ordinary deposits, time deposits and card loans with more favorable interest rates than the ones offered by traditional banks. 

Among the new services by the Internet banks are new credit assessments based on big data, wealth management by artificial intelligence systems and voice recognition banking services.

(Yonhap)