Korea Credit Data Leads Korea SOHO Bank Consortium, Specialized for Small Business Owners
Major Banks Including Hana, Woori, NH Nonghyup, and BNK Busan Join
Eugene Investment & Securities, Woori Card, LG CNS, Heungkuk Life Insurance, and Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance Also Participate
▲At 3 PM on the 26th, the Korea Soho Bank consortium announced that it has submitted the internet bank license application documents to the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service. Provided by Korea Soho Bank consortium.
Leading the Korea SOHO Bank consortium, Korea Credit Data announced on the 26th that it has submitted an application for preliminary approval for the 4th internet-only bank.
Korea Credit Data is a company specialized in small business owners, providing management services such as 'Cash Note' to 1.7 million small business sites nationwide. In addition, together with community companies including Korea Payment Networks, a specialist in online and offline payments, I'm U, a POS and Kiosk specialist company, Korea Evaluation Information, the nation's first dedicated personal business credit rating agency, and Korea Business Experience, which provides customer experiences specialized for small business owners, Korea Credit Data supplies services to 2.5 million business sites nationwide. Cash Note started as a bookkeeping and sales management app and has grown into a super app that takes responsibility for every moment of small business owners' operations, including management, financial services, purchasing, and community.
Korea Credit Data has been striving to provide optimized financial services for small business owners even before promoting the establishment of an internet-only bank. Together with Kakao Bank, SGI Seoul Guarantee, KB Kookmin Bank, and others, it established Korea Evaluation Information, the nation's first dedicated personal business credit rating agency, which received approval from the Financial Services Commission in 2022. Korea Evaluation Information has developed a credit evaluation model based on the business information of individual business owners and supplies it to numerous financial institutions. Recently, it attracted additional investments from Hana Bank, IBK Industrial Bank, DGB Daegu Bank, and others, gaining market recognition for the excellence of its small business owner evaluation model.
The Korea SOHO Bank consortium has assembled the best financial all-star lineup ever formed for internet bank approval. Among the five major financial holding company banks representing the banking industry, three?Hana Bank, Woori Bank, and NH Nonghyup Bank?participated, along with BNK Busan Bank, the number one regional bank, and OK Savings Bank, a representative bank for low-income finance in Korea. Woori Bank joined the Korea SOHO Bank consortium early on, while NH Nonghyup Bank and Hana Bank plan to enhance small business owners' digital financial accessibility based on their nationwide financial networks. BNK Busan Bank aims to promote balanced national development through regionally focused financial support, and OK Savings Bank will contribute to resolving financial blind spots with its expertise in inclusive finance for low- and medium-credit customers.
Additionally, non-bank financial companies such as Eugene Investment & Securities and Woori Card are participating to expand customized financial services for small business owners in investment and payment sectors. Eugene Investment & Securities plans to enhance financial stability by providing asset management and tailored investment products for small business owners, while Woori Card aims to improve financial convenience for small business owners through various credit card-based payment solutions.
In the insurance industry, Heungkuk Life Insurance and Heungkuk Fire & Marine Insurance have confirmed their participation, becoming the first insurance companies to join an internet-only bank consortium. The participation of the insurance sector is expected to deepen financial services by systematizing small business owners' management stability and risk preparedness while providing customized protection products.
Based on digital infrastructure and technological capabilities, leading domestic companies in the IT sector have also joined. LG CNS will implement a safe and flexible digital financial environment with finance-tailored AI technology and cloud infrastructure construction capabilities, while Megazone Cloud will support the development of customized financial services using a cloud-based BaaS platform and generative AI. ITCEN is preparing to introduce innovative services linking financial and public data based on its expertise in public IT services, and TIS will promote the convergence of insurance and finance through the digitalization of insurance services.
Korea Credit Data is accelerating regional cooperation to support local small business owners. It has signed a business agreement with Daejeon City for livelihood stabilization and the establishment of Korea SOHO Bank. Additionally, it is sharing data related to small business owners' management status through MOUs with credit guarantee foundations in nine regions including Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Chungnam, Busan, Daegu, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, and Gangwon.
Kim Dong-ho, CEO of Korea Credit Data, said, "The goal of the Korea SOHO Bank consortium is to become the 'first bank for small business owners' that provides fair credit evaluation and financial services to small business owners." He added, "By combining deep empathy for business owners, profound understanding of finance, and proven information technology capabilities, we will introduce new financial solutions that are essential for all business owners."
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