Refinancing Loan Platform Fees... Secondary Financial Sector Also "Feels Heavy Burden" (Comprehensive)

Video Conference with Secondary Financial Institutions by Financial Authorities on the 12th

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki Ha-young] As the launch of the debt refinancing platform service is scheduled for the second half of this year, differences in opinions between the banking sector and financial authorities have emerged, and concerns about the fees paid to big tech platforms are growing within the secondary financial sector as well.

According to the financial sector on the 13th, the Financial Services Commission held a video conference the day before with the Credit Finance Association, the Korea Federation of Savings Banks, some card companies, and savings banks to discuss the promotion plan for the debt refinancing platform service.

At this meeting, the secondary financial sector reportedly expressed willingness to participate in the debt refinancing platform service promoted by the financial authorities but conveyed concerns regarding fees and other issues. In fact, card companies and savings banks in the secondary financial sector are smaller in scale compared to banks, so the fee burden is heavier. Especially, card companies without prepayment penalties pointed out that if refinancing occurs frequently, the fee burden payable to fintech companies could be greater than expected. They also requested the relaxation of regulations related to credit limits. Savings banks reportedly raised concerns about operating hours. The secondary financial sector has previously suggested the establishment of a public loan comparison platform to reduce fee burdens and allowing refinancing only for borrowers who have had loans for more than six months.

The meeting was arranged to hear the opinions of the secondary financial sector regarding the debt refinancing platform service. The debt refinancing platform is a service that allows users to compare and switch all loan products from banks and secondary financial institutions through mobile applications (apps).

With the debt refinancing platform set to open in October, controversy arose as the financial sector strongly opposed issues such as fees and operating hours incurred when linked to the loan comparison systems of big tech (large information and communication companies). In response, financial authorities have been holding successive meetings with related sectors. The financial authorities' position is that the private platforms of big tech, which are used by a relatively large number of people, are more effective for more financial consumers to use the debt refinancing platform.

However, the financial sector is concerned not only about the fee issue but also about dependence on big tech.

Therefore, the market expects that some growing pains will be inevitable for the time being until the financial sector and big tech narrow their differences regarding fees and other aspects of the debt refinancing platform service.

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