72% of Economically Active Population Use Open Banking... "Expansion to Secondary Financial Sector"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] The cumulative number of subscribers to the open banking service, which was fully implemented at the end of last year, is approaching 41 million, with usage transactions reaching 1.05 billion. Financial authorities intend to expand open banking to the secondary financial sector to enhance consumer benefits.

On the 6th, the Financial Services Commission held an open banking seminar at the Korea Federation of Banks in Jung-gu, Seoul, to share the current status and discuss development directions. Attendees included related organizations such as the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute and the Korea Institute of Finance, as well as financial companies like Shinhan Bank and Viva Republica (Toss), and fintech companies.

Open banking is a service that allows users to view all their bank accounts and perform withdrawals and transfers through a single application (app). It was piloted in the banking sector in October of the same year following the financial settlement infrastructure innovation plan announced in February last year, and was fully implemented including fintech companies in December.

According to the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute, since the pilot implementation of open banking until the end of last month, the cumulative number of subscribers reached 40.96 million, with 65.88 million registered accounts. Excluding duplicate subscriptions across services, the number of subscribers is 20.32 million, which corresponds to about 72% of the domestic economically active population (28.21 million).

During the same period, the cumulative number of open banking API (Application Programming Interface) usage transactions reached 1.05 billion, with a daily average of 6.59 million transactions. Financial authorities expect the annual number to exceed 2 billion. Currently, 72 institutions including banks and fintech companies are providing open banking services.

Son Byung-du, Vice Chairman of the Financial Services Commission, said in his congratulatory speech at the seminar, "The goal of open banking is to promote competition and innovation in the financial industry and thereby maximize consumer benefits." He added, "Going forward, it is necessary to gradually expand open banking to the secondary financial sector, including savings banks, mutual finance, post offices, financial investment companies, and card companies."

Financial authorities plan to sequentially introduce open banking starting with the secondary financial sector, which is expected to be ready by December.

Lim Soo-han, Head of Digital Business Division at Shinhan Bank, suggested in his keynote presentation that "it is necessary to expand information providers from the perspective of consumer benefits." Son Hyun-wook, Head of Business Development at Viva Republica, requested not only the expansion of information providers but also the rationalization of inquiry fees and additional data opening such as the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute’s account integration management service (Account Info).

The Korea Institute of Finance expressed the view that while the open banking operating institutions strive to diversify services, they must also establish measures to reduce security and operational risks.

Provided by Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute

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