"Don't Wait for Payment, Get It the Next Day"… SC First Bank Launches 'Partners Loan'

On the 26th, at the headquarters of SC First Bank in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Jang Ho-jun, Head of Retail Banking at SC First Bank (right), and Choi Sung-jin, CEO of OnlyOne Co., Ltd., signed the agreement and took a commemorative photo at the "Business Agreement Ceremony for Mutual Cooperation in the Development and Operation of the Small Business Operating Fund Loan (Partners Loan)." Photo by SC First Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] SC First Bank announced on the 31st that it has launched a financial product called ‘Partners Loan,’ a pre-settlement service.

Partners Loan is a financial product in which SC First Bank pays the scheduled settlement amount in advance to sellers registered on the transaction brokerage system of an online store platform. It was established through a comprehensive business agreement with the fintech company OnlyOne on the 26th.

Until now, sellers had to wait up to about 90 days after selling goods to receive payment. SC First Bank explained that by using Partners Loan, sellers can receive payment as early as the day after the sale. Afterwards, when SC First Bank collects the money from the market operator on the settlement date on behalf of the seller, the seller’s loan is automatically repaid.

This product is an advanced form of the ‘Daily Loan’ introduced in January last year. The maximum loan limit has increased from 100 million KRW to 1 billion KRW, and the target customers have expanded from individual business owners to corporate businesses. While sales information for limit setting was previously extracted from a single market, Partners Loan verifies it from six companies (Interpark, TMON, WEMAKEPRICE, Lotte Shopping, SSG.com, CJ O Shopping).

The application targets are individuals and corporate business owners registered as sellers in the above six markets. Annual sales must be within 25 billion KRW, and the business period must be at least one year. The loan interest rate is a fixed 6.5% per annum regardless of the seller’s credit score. The loan limit is set within three times the average monthly sales generated over the past six months.

To commemorate the launch of Partners Loan, an event is also being held. All customers who sign up by August 31 will receive a preferential interest rate discount of 3% per annum. The first 80 companies will be given a mobile Shinsegae gift certificate worth 200,000 KRW.

Kim Kwang-chun, Head of Business Banking Division (Assistant General Manager) at SC First Bank, emphasized, “We hope this will help online sellers who are experiencing temporary liquidity shortages due to the COVID-19 situation.”