The file photo, taken Oct. 26, 2023, shows a Seoul office of Kakao Bank, a South Korean internet-only bank. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Internet-only lender Kakao Bank launched a new dollar deposit service Tuesday that can be linked with the online payment platform Travel Wallet to enable fee-free overseas cash withdrawals.
The new program, called “Dollar Box,” allows any Kakao Bank customer aged 19 years old or older to open one account each that can hold up to $10,000 in U.S. dollars.
The foreign deposit can be withdrawn, transferred or exchanged at any time, completely free of charge, according to the bank.
“Kakao Bank introduces a new service that focuses on U.S. dollars, the most common foreign currency,” it said in a press release, adding that 81 percent of foreign currency deposits in South Korea were in the U.S. greenback.
The bank has helped sharply lower the average cost of sending money overseas from around 50,000 won (US$36) to 5,000 won since it was launched in 2017, and its foreign currency service will now be expanded to include foreign exchange, it added.
The bank said making dollar-denominated deposits into a Dollar Box account or withdrawing money from it in the South Korean won will “always” be free of fees for currency exchange, while withdrawing cash at local ATMs will also be free of charge.
The dollar account may also be linked with the customers’ Travel Wallet accounts to enable charge-free ATM cash withdrawals in 70 other countries around the world, according to Kakao Bank.
(Yonhap)
