KB Mobile Certificate Leads Market, Kookmin Bank Shines with Platform Synergy

KB Mobile Certificate Surpasses 6.7 Million Cumulative Subscribers by End of January

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] Yoon Jong-kyu, Chairman of KB Financial Group, who has positioned customer-centric digital transformation (Digital Transformation·DT) as this year's core management strategy, is showing remarkable results from the beginning of the year. KB Mobile Certificate, the only private certificate that can be used by both the financial sector and public institutions, is demonstrating its true value in line with Chairman Yoon's ambition to become the 'number one financial platform.'

According to KB Kookmin Bank on the 3rd, the cumulative number of KB Mobile Certificate subscribers exceeded 6.7 million as of the end of January. Considering that the number of subscribers to 'BankSign,' a joint authentication service in the banking sector, is about 400,000, this is 16 times more, earning it the reputation as the fastest private certificate to establish itself. The number of new subscribers is also steadily increasing. Since the launch of KB Mobile Certificate, the monthly new subscriber counts were 295,248 in October last year, 400,316 in November, 525,926 in December, and 528,988 in January.

Currently, in the private certificate market, besides KB Mobile Certificate, there are services such as Kakao, NHN Payco, and Pass provided by the three major telecommunications companies that can be used for year-end tax settlement. Since the official certificate system was abolished on December 10 last year, major domestic banks have been entering the authentication service market one after another. However, KB Mobile Certificate is the only private certificate applicable to both the financial sector and public institutions, which is analyzed as the reason for the continuous increase in subscribers.

KB Kookmin Bank entered the private certificate market early with KB Mobile Certificate in July 2019 and was finally selected for the 'Public Sector Electronic Signature Pilot Project' last December. Accordingly, from last month, it has become possible to log in to the National Tax Service, obtain resident registration certificates from Government24, use the National Tax Service year-end tax settlement simplification service, and submit civil complaints and proposals through the People's Petition system. Among private certificates in the banking sector, only KB Mobile Certificate can be used when utilizing the National Tax Service year-end tax settlement simplification service.

Synergy with Bank Apps
KB Star Banking App New Subscribers Also Growing Rapidly

With the establishment of an integrated authentication system, KB Mobile Certificate allows login not only to banks but also to other KB affiliates' applications (apps) such as non-life insurance, life insurance, savings banks, securities, and cards. This is why KB Mobile Certificate creates synergy with the bank app KB Star Banking. The number of Star Banking app users is trending upward alongside the increase in mobile certificate users. The number of new Star Banking app subscribers grew from 90,504 in October last year, 113,028 in November, 116,796 in December, to 1,119,748 by the end of January this year.

The entry of banks into the authentication market has become inevitable with the advent of open banking and the MyData era. While KB Kookmin Bank is leading the private certificate market in the banking sector, other banks are also attempting to launch new certificates or introduce new authentication methods. Woori Bank launched the cloud-based WON Financial Certificate based on the Financial Certification Service of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, while Hana and Shinhan Banks applied new proprietary authentication methods to their bank apps Hana OneQ and Shinhan SOL, respectively. NongHyup Bank has also introduced the simple authentication service NH OnePass and is currently working to expand its versatility.

A bank official said, "Financial authorities are recently detailing plans to activate non-face-to-face financial services, so competition in the banking sector's authentication market is expected to intensify for the time being," adding, "There will be a common trend to expand the use of a single authentication method across all financial affiliates, and those who have already secured the market are expected to see additional benefits."