Corporate Clients Also Embrace the Contactless Era... All Set with Just One Bank App (Comprehensive)

KB, Woori and Other Corporate-Exclusive Platforms Launching Non-Face-to-Face Services One After Another

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi] As the digital innovation competition in the banking sector expands to corporate finance, a fierce race is underway to launch corporate finance platforms and non-face-to-face services that cover both corporate clients and individual business owners.

Shinhan Bank plans to introduce a digital-based sales support system called STAB within this month, enabling corporate clients to receive financial services through bank employees visiting their companies without having to visit a branch. STAB includes essential sales functions such as customer status inquiry, corporate information search, and proposal creation, and it supports loan, deposit, and reporting tasks for both corporate and individual business customers.

When a bank employee visiting a company holds a meeting with corporate representatives and registers sales information such as customer requests into STAB, the information is shared in real-time with employees’ PCs inside the branch, allowing for prompt processing. It also features a smart video consultation function, enabling corporate clients to have immediate video consultations with financial experts at headquarters without visiting the bank branch. The day before, Shinhan Bank launched the 'Shinhan Online Direct Export Guarantee Loan,' the first in the banking sector to apply a non-face-to-face loan application process for corporations, allowing export companies to apply for guarantees, undergo screening, and sign contracts entirely through a mobile app without visiting a branch.

Woori Bank launched 'Woori WON Banking Corporate' on the 15th, a customized financial service for corporate clients. It features non-face-to-face loan services and optimized functions for corporate customers such as bulk transfer of up to 500 transactions and easy balance top-up. Individual business owners can also open accounts and register for internet and mobile banking all at once without visiting a branch.

KB Kookmin Bank fully revamped and launched the comprehensive non-financial service platform KB Bridge for corporate clients at the end of last month. Additionally, it established the KB Smart Corporate Loan service, which supports all corporate clients to process corporate loan tasks through non-face-to-face channels. All processes for corporate loan customers, including loan application, limit and interest rate inquiry, document submission, contract signing, and progress tracking, can now be conducted through non-face-to-face channels without visiting a bank branch.

Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) launched the 'I-Won Small Business Owner' lifestyle financial platform last month, allowing small business owners to handle both personal and corporate banking services through a single mobile app. This month, it introduced a non-face-to-face overdraft loan product that offers preferential treatment to employees of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Non-face-to-face banking services expanding from individual to corporate customers

Digital innovation in the banking sector has so far been centered on individual customers.

Except for IBK, banking operations have focused on individual customers, and corporate finance has traditionally favored face-to-face transactions due to the complexity of required documents and the need to avoid errors or risks during credit evaluation and document review. According to IBK Economic Research Institute's '2020 SME Financial Survey,' at the end of last year, SMEs cited high interest rates (30.3%) and complicated loan document procedures (26.8%) as inconveniences when applying for bank loans.

However, amid tightening household loans and the spread of COVID-19 highlighting support for small business owners, banks are now facing the need to expand digital innovation to corporate clients to enhance customer convenience. With financial authorities expected to continue pressuring to curb the surge in household loans, banks face the reality that they must increase corporate lending to secure profitability.

An official from a bank said, "Banks have long provided non-face-to-face services to individual customers, and recently, from the perspective of expanding digitalization, they are launching platforms and services targeting corporate clients. Competition among banks to create differentiated digital platforms for corporate clients will intensify."

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