KakaoBank Strengthens Position as a 'Comprehensive Platform' Beyond Internet Banking

E-Mart Collaboration Savings Product Opened at a Rate of 1.2 Accounts per Second
Stock Accounts and Credit Card Partnership Services Also Progressing Smoothly

Yoon Ho-young, CEO of Kakao Bank

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyo-jin] "We must move beyond being simply a 'convenient bank' to becoming a comprehensive financial platform."

This is a management message that Yoon Ho-young, CEO of KakaoBank, has consistently emphasized since its launch. It means that KakaoBank should establish itself as a space where various financial-related services converge and advance, beyond being a fintech-centered 'internet-only bank' focused on convenience.

CEO Yoon's 'platform experiment' is shining through partnership services with distribution, securities, and card companies introduced one after another this year. According to KakaoBank on the 20th, the '26-Week Savings With Emart' account, launched on the KakaoBank mobile application (app) around 11 a.m. on the 18th, surpassed 100,000 new accounts within 24 hours at 11 a.m. on the 19th. This means accounts were opened at a rate of about 1.2 per second.

The '26-Week Savings With Emart' is a product that adds Emart discount coupons and cashback benefits worth up to 88,000 KRW to the existing '26-Week Savings' plan. Discount coupon numbers worth a total of 68,000 KRW are issued nine times according to the savings deposit performance. Subscribers who pay their savings until maturity can receive up to 20,000 KRW back when using Emart discount coupons.

KakaoBank explained that the concept of linking savings to consumption benefits was effective. This product is available for subscription until the end of this month. It offers a basic annual interest rate of 0.9%, with a maximum of 1.1% including preferential interest rates.

The stock account opening application service launched in collaboration with securities companies is also progressing smoothly. KakaoBank started partnerships with Korea Investment & Securities in March last year, NH Investment & Securities in February this year, and KB Securities in June this year to offer this service. As of the closing on the 18th, the number of opened accounts reached approximately 2,360,300.

The service is characterized by simplifying the account opening process based on linkage with KakaoBank account information. It is also analyzed that the relatively active stock trading by younger financial consumers amid the 'Donghak Ant Movement' trend has influenced this.

The credit card customer recruitment service, known as the 'KakaoBank Credit Card' service, which started in April, is also receiving evaluations for exceeding expectations. This service, involving KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Samsung, and Citi Card, received about 300,700 applications by the 18th.

A card company official said, "The results have greatly exceeded the initial projections at the time of service launch," adding, "We are considering expanding the service by strengthening promotions."

Banking Sector's No.1 'App Power' as the Greatest Weapon
"Providing a 'My Own Bank' Experience through UI·UX Special Features"

KakaoBank's greatest strength is the steep increase in app users. According to market research firm KoreanClick, as of the end of June, KakaoBank's app monthly active users (MAU / combined Android and iOS) numbered about 11 million, ranking first among all domestic banks.

The number of users accessing KakaoBank at least once a month increased from 10.62 million in December last year to 11.73 million in June this year. The number of account holders rose from 11.34 million at the end of last year to 12.75 million at the end of last month.

A KakaoBank official said, "KakaoBank's mega traffic is a foundation that can aggressively expand revenue models not only in the traditional net interest margin (NIM) business but also in platform business."

KakaoBank is focusing on increasing traffic through a simple and convenient user interface (UI/UX), waiving penalties for early repayment and ATM fees, and reducing overseas remittance costs, creating a virtuous cycle where this leads to subscriptions and use of products and services.

The official added, "We aim to provide the experience of 'my own bank' by setting the service structure from a supplier-centered bank to a customer-centered one," and "Through user environments such as checking account balances immediately upon app login, we are eliciting customer evaluations like 'Bank apps can be used comfortably too.'"

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