Open Banking Expanded to Corporations... Usable at Branches as Well

Pilot Operation Starting as Early as This Second Half
Financial Services Commission Announces 'Open Banking Function Expansion Plan'

Starting as early as the second half of this year, open banking services will be expanded not only to individuals but also to corporations. Additionally, the system will be improved to allow the use of open banking services at offline channels such as bank branches.

Kim So-young, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, is delivering opening remarks at the "Domestic ESG Disclosure Standards On-site Meeting" held on the 14th at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

On the 21st, the Financial Services Commission held an on-site meeting on open banking and MyData (personal credit information management service) at the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute conference room in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, chaired by Vice Chairman Kim So-young. Experts, commercial banks, and related organizations participated, and the 'Open Banking Function Expansion Plan' containing these details was announced.

First, the scope of information provision for open banking inquiry services, which had been limited to individuals, will be expanded to include corporations such as small and medium-sized enterprises. Accordingly, corporations will be able to inquire about real-time information of desired accounts at once through open banking, just like individuals currently do. Financial institutions will also be able to utilize account information such as account balances and transaction details for launching new corporate-related fund management services.

Furthermore, the open banking service, which was previously provided only through mobile and online methods, will be improved to be available at offline channels such as bank branches. In this case, even at branches with limited bank presence, financial consumers will be able to visit one bank and handle inquiries and transfers for accounts held at other banks.

The authorities plan to prepare 'Open Banking Branch Utilization Guidelines' within the scope of the 'Financial Consumer Protection Act' to ensure that no financial consumer protection issues arise during the offline use of open banking, including obtaining consent and the scope of use.

The financial authorities plan to pilot the expansion of information provision scope (corporate) and the introduction of offline channels in the second half of this year. To this end, discussions among related organizations' task forces (TF) and financial sector IT development will continue.

Meanwhile, at the meeting, expert and industry opinions were also gathered to strengthen the MyData function as a financial platform. Park Young-ho, a partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), introduced cases from the UK and the US and presented the potential for innovation and competition enhancement in financial services through open banking in non-financial sectors such as retail, travel, accommodation, and the automotive industry.

Kwon Heung-jin, a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Finance, said, "Korea's conditions for promoting open finance have matured faster than other countries due to the introduction of open banking in 2019 and MyData in 2022," and advised, "We need to promote a balanced open finance infrastructure through continuous expansion of data sharing, strengthening open banking and MyData functions, and enhancing financial consumers' rights."

Based on the discussions at the meeting, the authorities plan to soon unveil the 'MyData 2.0 Promotion Plan.' Vice Chairman Kim said, "The government will continue to collect opinions through meetings, task forces, and association proposals to develop the financial innovation infrastructure into a mutually beneficial platform for all participating players," and urged, "Financial companies and fintech (finance + technology) firms should also make special efforts in financial security and data protection to prevent consumer protection issues."