NH Investment & Securities Obtains License for General Currency Exchange Operations

NH Investment & Securities announced on the 7th that it has received approval for general currency exchange operations from the Ministry of Economy and Finance. Accordingly, NH Investment & Securities customers will be able to exchange currency through the Mobile Trading System (MTS) and other platforms, with the currency exchange service scheduled to launch within this year.

Previously, securities firm customers could only conduct currency exchange for securities investment purposes, but following the approval, NH Investment & Securities customers can now exchange currency for general purposes such as export-import business, studying abroad, and travel. To obtain the approval, NH Investment & Securities established internal control organizations, built IT infrastructure, and prepared risk management guidelines related to foreign exchange transactions in accordance with foreign exchange transaction regulations and the Financial Supervisory Service’s checklist procedures.

In February 2023, financial authorities announced improvements to the foreign exchange market structure and reforms to the foreign exchange system, presenting a policy to open the foreign exchange market while internally innovating unnecessary regulations to create a competitive environment for financial institutions’ foreign exchange services. Among these reforms, the foreign exchange system revision included allowing securities firms to conduct general currency exchange operations, enabling securities firms as comprehensive financial investment business operators to provide general currency exchange services to customers.

NH Investment & Securities was the first securities firm to enter the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market and also the first non-bank entity to participate in the Seoul Foreign Exchange Market Council, holding the longest foreign exchange market experience among securities firms. Based on this experience, through this general currency exchange approval, NH Investment & Securities plans to expand its foreign exchange business dimension and broaden its foreign exchange service target to include not only individuals but also corporate clients.

An NH Investment & Securities representative stated, "We will upgrade services for our diverse customer base, our unique strength, and gradually provide various foreign exchange products and services linked to currency exchange, not limited to investment-purpose currency exchange, in line with the implementation of general currency exchange this year."