'October Launch of "Daehwandaechul Platform" Expected to Further Lower Fees'

Financial Authorities to Form Consultative Body Soon

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jin-ho] The intermediary fees for the debt refinancing platform promoted by financial authorities are expected to be set at a lower level than those of some currently operating platforms.

According to the financial authorities on the 18th, the Financial Services Commission recently held consecutive meetings with the financial sector regarding the debt refinancing platform. Starting with the banking sector on the 6th, followed by the secondary financial sector (on the 12th), and fintech companies (on the 13th), they met directly.

At the meetings, the Financial Services Commission reiterated its control over the rights of financial companies to select platform firms and the fees involved. It acknowledged the banking sector's concern that fintech companies might take all the fees and conveyed its stance to regulate fees from rising beyond a certain level.

To this end, a consultative body will soon be formed. The financial sector will take the lead in discussing the criteria for selecting 2 to 3 fintech companies out of about 10, including Toss and KakaoPay, which have expressed their intention to participate in the platform business. The Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute will serve as the secretariat, with representatives from various financial associations and private committee members recommended by them participating.

Regarding the 24-hour operation requested by platform companies, it has been decided to limit operations to banking hours. This decision reflects the banking sector's demands and considers system stability.

The Financial Services Commission plans to launch a system around October that links the loan interest rate comparison service of some currently operating platform companies with the debt refinancing infrastructure of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute. Once this system is introduced, consumers will be able to refinance loans easily and quickly in a non-face-to-face, one-stop manner without visiting bank branches.

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