MyData Pilot Service Launch... Confusion Amid Financial Authorities' Marketing 'Cold Water'

MyData Pilot Service Launches on the 1st
17 Financial Companies and Fintechs Join, but Marketing Regulations Cause Confusion

[Asia Economy Reporters Sunmi Park and Jinho Kim] As MyData (Personal Credit Information Management Service), known as the "financial assistant in my hand," begins its pilot service this month, confusion is arising over related products and events. This is due to financial authorities raising regulatory barriers belatedly, concerned about excessive marketing competition among financial institutions to secure customer data. Financial companies that had prepared specialized products and services to gain market dominance are now struggling as their plans are disrupted by the authorities' ambiguous guidelines.

According to the financial sector on the 1st, Woori Bank has temporarily postponed the launch of the "MyData Preferential Savings" product, which was scheduled to be introduced at 4 p.m. on the day the pilot service started. As of the first day of implementation, the decision on whether to launch the product has not been finalized. The condition of offering a preferential interest rate of up to 1.3 percentage points annually to customers who register their data for the MyData service has become a stumbling block. The authorities have stipulated that marketing activities to attract MyData customers cannot provide prizes exceeding 30,000 KRW, and depending on the interpretation of this clause, issues may arise.

Hana Bank's "Hana Hap Savings," launched on the same day, is in a similar situation. This product offers a maximum annual interest rate of 4.1%, including a basic rate of 1.1% and a preferential rate of up to 3.0%, but only to customers who make advance reservations. If the financial authorities issue new guidelines regarding this product, changes to its structure will be inevitable. This means that the interest rates applied to customers who made advance reservations could also change.

Events that were vigorously prepared to attract customers in the early stages of implementation have also lost momentum due to the authorities' excessive prize restraint order. KB Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank canceled the car prize worth 70 million KRW that they had heavily promoted. Kookmin Bank originally planned to award one winner a Genesis GV70 2.5 Gasoline Turbo car. Instead, they increased the number of winners to 40 and changed the prize to an Apple iPad Pro 11-inch (128GB). Woori Bank also replaced the GV60 car prize with a Dyson air purifier and Kookmin Tourism Culture Gift Certificates.

Within the industry, these confusions surrounding the MyData pilot service are attributed to ambiguous regulations on the "prohibition of excessive marketing" and the last-minute issuance of guidelines. A bank official said, "The entire industry put effort into related products and events in line with the MyData implementation, but the authorities' late strengthening of surveillance on excessive marketing has made everyone cautious." He added, "Until clear regulations from the authorities are issued, aggressive marketing is not possible."

According to the revised "MyData Service Guidelines" on the 19th, MyData operators are prohibited from inducing service subscriptions by offering money, benefits, goods, etc., exceeding 30,000 KRW (meaning the average amount provided through lotteries, etc.). Additionally, to prevent excessive competition among operators, if prizes are provided through lotteries, the amount given to any specific individual must not excessively exceed 30,000 KRW. However, the guidelines do not specify what constitutes an excessive excess, only citing examples such as high-priced prizes exceeding 1 million KRW.

A financial authority official explained, "The limit was not uniformly set at 30,000 KRW but based on the 'average amount' because regulations should not restrict competition. However, when autonomy was granted, excessively high-value prizes were offered," adding, "We judged this as excessive and recommended a limit around 1 million KRW." He also stated, "We are not considering additional guidelines regarding the prohibition of excessive marketing related to MyData."