[Smart Finance Awards] Evolving MTS... Intensifying Competition

Judging Comments - Jung Soonseop, Chief Judge (Professor at Seoul National University School of Law)

[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] The 11th Asia Economy ‘2021 Asia Smart Finance Awards’ was organized to distinguish the best mobile trading system (MTS) services in Korea and help them evolve into more advanced services. Amid the stock market boom, securities firms have been improving their MTS services, leading to even fiercer competition for the awards this year.

The evaluation to distinguish the top MTS services in Korea was conducted by the ‘Web Development Institute,’ a specialized organization for website and mobile app evaluation and certification. The institute assessed five categories: Customer-Friendliness (A), Business (B), Content (C), Design (D), and Technical Excellence (E), based on their patented SM (Smart Mobile)-ABCDE app evaluation model. The final selection of awardees was made through judges’ reviews based on the first-round evaluation data provided by the Web Development Institute. Moon Hyungnam, CEO of the Web Development Institute and professor at Sookmyung Women’s University Graduate School of Business, stated, “Securities firms’ MTS have rapidly evolved overall, with an increase in services utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.”

The Financial Services Commission Chairman’s Award, the ‘MTS Grand Prize,’ was awarded to Mirae Asset Securities. Mirae Asset Securities’ M-Stock received high marks in the Business category for its ability to provide a personalized trading environment. In particular, it was highly evaluated for its detailed settings in inquiry and trading sections, allowing investors to utilize services according to their needs.

NH Investment & Securities, which ranked second overall, was praised for offering a wide variety of customer communication channels, including customer centers, proposals/inquiries, bulletin board consultations, and FAQs, thereby collecting customer feedback and enhancing convenience. Additionally, its consultation features such as work talk and stock talk, which consider smartphone characteristics, and active use of SNS as a promotional channel were judged to significantly improve customer convenience.

In the Customer-Friendliness (A) category, Korea Investment & Securities took first place. It received high scores for the diversity of information, including user guides, customer convenience for membership registration and personal information changes, and customer-friendly services based on the securities firm’s originality and differentiation.

KB Securities ranked first in the Business (B) category, excelling in the convenience of investment information inquiry and the variety of order setting functions. It scored highly in the diversity and ease of use of core MTS functions related to stock and product trading.

In the Content (C) category, Shinhan Financial Investment was highly rated for the diversity, reliability, and uniqueness of securities trading content, as well as practical investment consultation services necessary for trading. Especially, the ‘My Style’ menu, which offers differentiated content, received favorable evaluations.

Daishin Securities took first place in the Design (D) category. Its logical menu structure and short navigation paths contributed to ease of movement, earning high scores. It was also highly evaluated for securing Daishin Securities’ unique originality.

Samsung Securities ranked first in the Technical Excellence (E) category. It was praised for enabling users sensitive to security to use the MTS conveniently and safely. The app provided alternative text on screens for key functions and had relatively low barriers to mobile app service access for people with disabilities.