"Let's Study Special Sales Instead of Stocks"... Burning Savings and Deposit Ticketing Fever

'20 Business Days' New Account Opening Restriction Exists
But Interest Rate Nomad Tribe Finds 'Regulation Evasion Method' for Special Sales
Active Information Sharing Like "Lift Limit in Advance"

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] Mr. Kim Seon-jae (49) recently joined an investment community to gather information on high-interest special promotional products and was surprised. There were far more details to know in advance for signing up for special promotions than he had expected. From website menu locations to account limit restrictions, there were dozens of things to study beforehand. Mr. Kim said, "I had failed to join special promotions every time, but I didn't realize I had to study this thoroughly."

As high-interest savings and deposit products are being launched one after another in the financial sector, competition among financial consumers to catch these special promotions is heating up. The competition is fierce, with products selling out in just a few minutes, and since information is scarce, a unique phenomenon is unfolding where people study tips for signing up for special promotions by browsing the internet.

What financial consumers are most interested in is how to circumvent the regulation on ‘short-term multiple account opening restrictions.’ Since 2010, the Financial Supervisory Service has regulated continuous new account openings to prevent dummy accounts and voice phishing. Currently, new accounts can only be opened after ‘20 business days’ excluding weekends and holidays. High-interest special promotions come out every few days, but once you join a product, you can only challenge a new special promotion after a month.

However, methods to evade account opening restrictions by industry are being shared one after another. In the case of savings banks, it is recommended to use the ‘non-face-to-face exclusive checking account’ introduced by the Korea Federation of Savings Banks in July 2020. This product allows non-face-to-face subscription to fixed deposits at multiple savings banks. If created through the SB TokTok Plus application, you can subscribe to fixed deposits at several savings banks without being restricted by the 20 business day rule. This method takes advantage of the fact that the short-term multiple account opening restriction applies only to demand deposit accounts.

Various tips are also being provided at credit cooperatives where special promotions are frequently launched. A representative method is to open a demand deposit account at a credit union where a special promotion is scheduled, successfully join the high-interest product, and then close the demand deposit account. If you join the special promotion with ‘direct closure at maturity,’ there is no disadvantage in closing the account. Although the demand deposit account disappears, you can receive it through the credit union central app OnBank and withdraw it from another credit union account. Consumers testify that since the 20 business day restriction does not apply, you can quickly secure a high-interest special promotion account.

Interest Rate Nomads Sharing Special Promotion 'Golden Tips'

Citizens waiting before business hours on the morning of the 27th of last month at Seoul Gwanak Credit Union to sign up for a special 10% annual interest rate offer.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

If you fail to join a credit union special promotion, you need to prepare for the next one. You must properly close the demand deposit account to be able to join another special promotion product. If you have an account with the limit restriction lifted, you should immediately close the demand deposit product and transfer the subscription funds to another account you already have. If you do not have an account with the limit lifted, advice is given to use open banking platforms like Toss or KakaoPay.

The ‘Interest Rate Nomads’ also share attitudes and mindsets for successfully joining special promotions. An operator of an investment community with about 20,000 users recently notified members, "You should try transactions with other smart banking apps and familiarize yourself with the screen layout in advance," and "If you fail to join, think of it as a new grape and don't get angry; it's better to aim for the next special promotion." There was also advice to "refresh the page every 10 to 20 minutes overnight as special promotions often launch suddenly at midnight."

Unexpected situations that may occur during special promotion sign-ups are also shared in advance. As special promotions gain popularity and many subscribers flock, various system errors frequently occur. Tips such as "If a message saying 'duplicate error' appears, pressing the confirm button will kick you out of the screen," or "If there are many people waiting and the server crashes, waiting is much faster than refreshing" are commonly posted.

The most common suggestion when managing special promotions was to use the ‘prepayment deferral’ method. Prepayment deferral is an investment technique that adjusts the subscription amount of savings and deposits to obtain optimal interest. Instead of depositing the same amount every month, a lump sum is deposited in advance (prepayment), and the remaining amount is paid late in the maturity month (deferral). This allows you to schedule savings and deposits according to your personal financial situation, and by using savings and deposit collateral loans, you can maximize interest.