"Save Tens of Thousands with Smartphone App"... 'Loan Refinancing' Service from the 31st

'Online One-Stop Debt Consolidation Loan Infrastructure' Now Available
Compare Loan Rates and Limits, Then Move Directly to Better Terms

Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, is briefing on the launch of the 'Online One-Stop Debt Consolidation Loan Infrastructure' at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 30th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Starting from the 31st, financial consumers will be able to refinance their existing unsecured loans under more favorable conditions using their smartphones without visiting financial company branches. The Financial Services Commission announced the launch of the 'Online One-Stop Loan Refinancing' service on smartphone apps.

Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, stated in a briefing on the 30th, "Consumers will be able to easily check their existing unsecured loan information from 53 financial companies, including banks, savings banks, card companies, and capital companies, and refinance all at once under better conditions."

Loan Refinancing Available on Existing Interest Rate Comparison Platforms

The apps that support loan refinancing include loan comparison platforms such as Naver Pay, BankSalad, Kakao Pay, Toss, Finda, KB Kookmin Card, and Welcome Savings Bank. On these platform apps, consumers can check their existing loans through MyData, compare loan conditions from multiple financial companies, and then move to the selected financial company’s app to refinance their loans.

Major bank apps such as KB Kookmin Bank, Shinhan Bank, Hana Bank, Woori Bank, NH Nonghyup Bank, as well as Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and Gyeongnam Banks also support refinancing. Consumers can check existing loans from other financial companies without subscribing to MyData and then directly refinance with the respective financial company’s loan. However, comparing loan interest rates by financial company is not possible here.

Since loan conditions from financial companies partnered with each platform are presented on the loan comparison platform apps, the financial companies available for comparison may vary by platform. Vice Chairman Kim said, "Starting from the 31st, the five major commercial banks and key second-tier financial companies such as savings banks will supply refinancing loan products through partnerships with one or more platforms. We expect each financial company to actively participate in competition to attract loan customers as the infrastructure launches," adding, "The number of financial companies partnered with each platform is expected to continuously increase after June."

So far, Hana Bank has partnered with four platforms, NH Nonghyup and Woori Bank with two platforms each, and KB Kookmin and Shinhan Bank with one platform each.

When selecting the refinancing service (loan refinancing) within a loan comparison platform or financial company app, consumers first check the interest rate and repayment amount of their existing loans. Then, by entering their income, workplace, and asset information, they can view the loan conditions available for a new loan and see if refinancing to a better loan is possible. Repeatedly checking loan conditions on platforms and financial company apps does not affect credit scores.

Vice Chairman Kim advised, "To refinance to the most favorable loan conditions, it is good to check the preferential interest rates you can receive," and added, "You can then compare the interest you can save and the early repayment fees you pay when repaying the existing loan to understand how advantageous refinancing is."

Each platform app supports features that allow consumers to easily see real-time interest rate changes based on the selection or deselection of preferential interest rate conditions at a glance.

Mortgage Loan Refinancing Starts in December

Once financial consumers make their final loan selection considering all information, they proceed with the loan contract on the respective financial company’s app. After the contract is completed, the consumer’s existing loan is automatically repaid through the loan transfer system. Refinancing is complete once the consumer confirms that the existing loan has been fully repaid and the new loan has been received.

The service is available during bank business hours, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on every business day. There is no limit on the number of times the service can be used. However, for loans without early repayment fees, refinancing through the system is only possible after six months have passed since the loan contract was executed.

Elderly people or others unfamiliar with smartphone use can visit major bank branches to apply for loan refinancing. Through the computerized loan transfer system that processes repayments between financial companies, consumers can check and repay their existing loans by visiting just one new financial company.

Loans eligible for transfer are unsecured loans such as employee loans and overdraft accounts under 1 billion KRW from 53 financial companies. New loans eligible for refinancing are the same. However, refinancing existing loans into policy loans targeted at low-income or low-credit consumers (such as Saehope Hope Loan, Stepping Stone Loan, Saehope Dream Loan, Sa-itdol Mid-Interest Loan, and Sunshine Loan) is possible regardless of guarantee status. Loans that are delinquent, involved in legal disputes, under seizure, or suspended from transactions cannot be refinanced through the system.

Starting July 1, all card loans can be checked on platforms and refinanced into other loans. Previously, when trying to transfer card loans (long-term card loans) received from card companies, they could not be checked as existing loans, so consumers had to directly use the refinancing financial company’s app.

The refinancing system for mortgage loans is planned to be launched in December this year.