K bank, Kakao Bank strives to expand, stimulate banking industryBy Nam Hyun-wooK bank, Korea's first online-only bank, started selling bancassurance products Monday, expanding its around-the-clock accessibility to another business.The bank released 20 savings and protection type policies, called "mobilessurance," through a single mobile application.Four domestic life insurers and four non-life insurers are selling their policies through K bank. The life insurers are Hanwha Life, a K bank shareholder, IBK Insurance, BNP Paribas Cardif Life and Kyobo Lifeplanet Life. The non-life insurers are Hanwha General, Hyundai Marine, MG Non-life and KB Insurance. Lotte Insurance will also join them after wrapping up a product review.According to K bank, it offers consumer 24/7 phone-consultation services, mobile messaging and e-mail. As well as consultations, a subscription is also available around the clock, the bank said.Bancassurance is the latest expansion of the Korean internet-only banks' business domain and they are making efforts to grow their playing field to meet growing customer demand.Since their launch this year, K bank and the other online-only bank, Kakao Bank, have enjoyed explosive popularity. At the end of October, Kakao Bank had 4 million accounts, while K bank had half a million. Their emergence has created a ripple effect in the stagnant banking industry here. As online-only banks made aggressive sales pitches with their accessibility and fresh products, conventional banks hiked their deposit interest rates from between 1 percent and 2 percent to between 2 percent and 3 percent. They also lowered loan rates by an average of 0.05 percentage points.To meet the growing demand, online-only banks are now preparing new products. Along with deposits and lending, they are preparing for loans for house rental deposits and mortgages. Kakao Bank plans to roll out rental deposit loans early next year as its customer base is mostly young adults who tend to pay monthly rent or jeonse deposits. Jeonse refers to Korea's unique housing lease system, under which a tenant pays around 60 to 70 percent of the full price of the property to landlords for a certain period, generally two years without paying rent. The next business online-only banks are eyeing is credit cards According to sources, Kakao Bank has issued 1.5 million debit cards as of October, while K bank has issued 370,000. As their debit card business hits its stride, both banks are preparing for an entry into the credit card business, setting up special teams to get regulatory approval.
South Korea 's first online - only bank , K bank , has expanded into China by selling bancassurance products . The bank has released 20 savings and investment policies through a mobile app , including products from four domestic life insurance firms and four non - life insurers . The service offers customers round - the - clock consultations through phone calls , text messaging and email . K bank has enjoyed huge growth since its launch earlier this year , holding approximately 100 branches at the end of October .