Gwangju Bank's 'Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings' Gains Popularity

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Bank (President Song Jong-wook) announced on the 16th that its ‘Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings,’ launched on November 18 last year, surpassed 3,300 accounts and a contract amount of 2.7 million USD (approximately 3.3 billion KRW) within four months of its release.

The Bank of Korea reported that due to the global economic slowdown and ongoing uncertainties, investors increasingly prefer safe assets, making foreign currency deposits a favored financial tool. By the end of last year, individual foreign currency deposits reached a record high of 15.4 billion USD (approximately 18 trillion KRW).

In response, Gwangju Bank launched the ‘Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings’ product reflecting customer needs.

The ‘Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings’ is a collaboration with Hana Tour under the concept of ‘the meeting of finance and travel,’ offering customers a way to save a lump sum for overseas travel, preferential foreign exchange transaction fees, cashback, and more. It is gaining popularity as a foreign exchange investment product utilizing foreign currency deposits.

The ‘Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings’ allows subscriptions in US dollars from a minimum of 50 USD to a maximum of 5,000 USD for a period between 6 months and 2 years. It offers a basic interest rate of 0.85% per annum and provides a preferential interest rate of up to 0.3%p per annum for meeting conditions such as ▲ full conversion of KRW to foreign currency for deposits ▲ foreign exchange transaction usage ▲ automatic monthly deposit transfer ▲ new subscription via non-face-to-face channels, allowing a maximum annual interest rate of 1.15%.

Additionally, the subscription method, previously limited to branch counters and internet banking, has been expanded to include smart banking and mobile web, enhancing customer accessibility.

Kim Hyun-sung, Head of Foreign Exchange Sales at Gwangju Bank, said, “We sincerely thank everyone for the great support for the ‘Happy Life Travel Sketch Foreign Currency Savings.’ We will continue to do our best to provide various services and products in line with changing foreign exchange demands and trends.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.