Hana Bank Launches First Non-Face-to-Face Account Opening Service for Foreign Residents in Korea in the Financial Sector

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Hana Bank announced on the 27th that it will be the first in the domestic financial sector to implement a non-face-to-face account opening service for foreign residents in Korea starting from the 29th.

In the domestic financial sector, non-face-to-face account opening services have only been provided to Korean nationals, individual business owners, and corporations. Hana Bank aims to resolve inconveniences faced by foreign customers residing in Korea by offering a non-face-to-face account opening service for foreigners in 16 languages through a multilingual mobile banking app.

The foreigner non-face-to-face account opening service verifies the issuance information of the Foreigner Registration Card and allows account opening after identity verification based on facial recognition that compares the Foreigner Registration Card, passport, and the customer's face.

The service applies to foreigners residing in Korea who possess a Foreigner Registration Card. Through the non-face-to-face account opening service, they can open a KRW deposit and withdrawal account as well as an 'Easy-One Overseas Remittance Dedicated Account.'

The KRW deposit and withdrawal accounts opened through the foreigner non-face-to-face account opening service are exempt from electronic financial transfer fees to other banks and Hana Bank's automated teller machine usage fees without any performance conditions or limits on the number of transactions.

Additionally, when foreigners use Hana Bank's specialized app service, Direct Remittance, for overseas remittances, they can verify the recipient and account validity before remittance just like domestic transfers, and check the remittance progress in real time after sending, which helps prevent erroneous remittances.

A representative from Hana Bank's Foreign Exchange Business Division stated, “Along with the launch of the foreigner non-face-to-face account opening service, we renewed the app so that foreigners can customize the app's main screen with family photos,” adding, “We will continue to strive to provide warm and differentiated financial services specialized in foreign exchange at Hana Bank, so that foreign customers who find domestic financial transactions difficult can experience these services without the inconvenience of visiting branches or language barriers.”