Banks That Prevented Untact Cancellation of Savings and Deposits on Red Days for 10 Years

2010 Release A Bank Banking App
Last Month Golden Holiday Period
Customer Complaint Calls Flooded
Cancellation Possible from 3rd

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Throughout last month's golden holiday, A Bank's customer center was flooded with complaint calls. The reason was the same: customers could not cancel savings and fixed deposits through the bank's mobile application (app) and internet banking.

Customers were told, "Savings and fixed deposit cancellations are not possible on weekends and public holidays." It turned out that on this bank's app and internet banking, cancellations were only possible on weekdays from 8 a.m. to midnight.

The golden holiday lasted for six days and five nights, from April 30th, Buddha's Birthday, to May 1st, Labor Day, May 2nd (Saturday), May 3rd (Sunday), and May 5th, Children's Day. During this period, the only day when non-face-to-face (untact) savings and fixed deposit cancellations were possible was May 4th. Mr. Choi Mansu (a pseudonym) said, "I needed urgent funds during the holiday and tried to cancel a fixed deposit I had subscribed to years ago but couldn't, which was a disaster," adding, "Since the COVID-19 pandemic, I mainly use untact services, but it seems they don't consider customer convenience," expressing his frustration.

It was revealed that since A Bank launched its mobile and internet banking apps in 2010, it has blocked untact savings and fixed deposit cancellation services on holidays for over ten years. While other commercial banks and secondary financial institutions allow untact cancellations on holidays, A Bank's customers were the only ones unable to do so.

According to the financial sector on the 5th, A Bank announced on its homepage that from the 3rd, untact savings and fixed deposit cancellations would be possible 365 days a year. This improvement was made following customer complaints about the untact cancellation service during the recent golden holiday.

A Bank launched its mobile banking app in 2010, with approximately 16 million subscribers. Since September 2011, the app has provided savings and fixed deposit subscription services on weekends, and since June 2017, it has also accepted loan applications. However, for over ten years, weekend cancellations of savings and fixed deposits were blocked.

An official from the bank explained, "There was no customer demand until now, but recently, with the increase in untact transactions due to COVID-19, there have been requests for weekend savings cancellations."

Other banks responded with disbelief, calling it "absurd." Major banks and internet-only banks provide untact cancellation services 365 days a year. Even mutual finance institutions like Saemaeul Geumgo allow weekend cancellations.

An official from another bank said, "There is no reason not to provide weekend savings and fixed deposit cancellation services," adding, "I don't understand why A Bank blocked weekend services." Banks said that untact savings and fixed deposit cancellations have been available for so long that they cannot even recall when they started.

Some interpret this as a positive(?) incident sparked by the stock investment craze since March. Customers who had large sums deposited focused on canceling savings and fixed deposits for stock investment purposes, bringing unnoticed issues to light.

This can also be inferred from the numbers. The number of savings and fixed deposit cancellations at A Bank was similar to previous years, but the amount significantly increased. From March to May, A Bank had 738,000 cancellations, similar to 730,000 in the same period last year. However, in terms of amount, it was 8.896 trillion won, over 1 trillion won more than the 7.7964 trillion won in the same period last year.

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