Sales Only for Three Days Starting from the 3rd
830,000+ Sign-ups in Two Days 'Frenzy'
Bank App Overload, Long Queues at Counters
Online Shares Info: "Internet Banking is Faster"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] On the 3rd, Hana Bank changed its brand name from KEB Hana Bank to Hana Bank and launched a special savings product called ‘Hana Deo Jeokgeum,’ which has sparked a frenzy. This savings product will be available until 5 PM on the 5th.
News of a savings product offering 5% annual interest in an ultra-low interest rate era triggered a huge rush. From university students to housewives and the elderly, people connected to the smartphone app and waited endlessly, while bank branches were packed with people lining up to sign up for the savings product.
Kim, 32, opened a Hana Bank account for the first time in his life around midnight that day to subscribe to Hana Deo Jeokgeum. He said, “I tried to open an account on the Hana One Q application starting from the 3rd but failed repeatedly. I stayed up all night determined and finally succeeded in signing up.”
A bank official said, “People under their 40s tried to sign up through the app, while mostly people in their 50s and older visited branches to subscribe.” Due to the sudden influx of savings subscribers, even employees handling foreign exchange or loan services were mobilized, causing other operations to come to a halt.
The Hana Bank app, which was down on the 3rd and 4th, is currently accessible, but many users are still crowded, causing delays in product subscriptions and some inconvenience.
As of 5 PM on the 4th, the total subscription amount reached 231.5 billion KRW, with 837,093 accounts opened. Since only one account per person is allowed, it means about 830,000 people subscribed to this savings product.
The number of subscribers is expected to exceed 1 million well before the 5 PM deadline on the same day. This level of popularity is unprecedented among recently launched products.
Online, methods to quickly subscribe to this savings product are even being shared. One suggestion is to “use internet banking.” A banking industry insider hinted, “Banks manage PC internet servers and mobile app servers separately, so if the app is congested and difficult to access, it’s better to use internet banking.”
This product offers a base interest rate of 3.56% per annum, with an additional 0.2 percentage points for online channel subscription and 1.25 percentage points for automatic transfer registration from a Hana Bank deposit account, providing a maximum interest rate of 5.01%.
The subscription period is 12 months, with a maximum monthly deposit of 300,000 KRW. Depositing the maximum 3.6 million KRW, after deducting interest tax (15.4%), the amount received is 3,682,650 KRW. Even though the interest earned in one year is just over 80,000 KRW, ordinary people who cannot even consider real estate or stock investments have especially joined this frenzy. This is so-called ‘Jjantech’ (frugal + financial technology), aiming to earn even a few thousand won.
One subscriber said, “Since I was going to sign up for a savings product anyway, it’s better to choose one that offers a little more interest. Compared to other savings products with less than 3%, 5% is something to be grateful for.”
Currently, the interest rates for savings products at 18 major banks range from 1.70% to 3.75% per annum for 12-month flexible installment savings (including preferential rates). The average interest rate across 38 products is only 2.27%. For fixed deposits, the 12-month interest rates including preferential rates range from 1.04% to 2.25%, with an average of 1.66% across 47 products.
It is expected that this phenomenon will repeat whenever high-interest special promotions are launched. Last July, KakaoBank’s 5% interest non-face-to-face fixed deposit product, released to celebrate reaching 10 million customers, sold out in ‘one second,’ and whenever special promotions are held by mutual finance or savings banks, customers flood the apps and branches repeatedly.
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