80% of People in Their 60s Join Face-to-Face Savings Accounts... "Excluded from Non-Face-to-Face Enrollment Benefits"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] It has been revealed that most elderly people aged 60 and over still subscribe to savings accounts in person, missing out on the benefits of preferential online interest rates.

According to data received on the 29th by Yoon Kwan-seok, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, through the Financial Supervisory Service, 80.9% of savings account subscribers aged 60 and over at the five major commercial banks?KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori, and NH Nonghyup?subscribed in person during the first half of this year. In contrast, 82.8% of people in their 20s and 30s subscribed to savings accounts non-face-to-face during the same period.

When subscribing to a savings account in person, customers cannot receive the preferential interest rates offered for online channel subscriptions. The banking sector applies separate preferential interest rates for non-face-to-face savings applications to promote internet banking activation and reduce paper waste caused by passbook issuance.

As of last year, the average non-face-to-face savings subscription rates for those aged 60 and over by bank were as follows: Woori Bank 34.1%, Shinhan Bank 29.2%, Hana Bank 25.3%, Nonghyup 4.9%, and Kookmin Bank 3.6%. Notably, Nonghyup and Kookmin Banks had non-face-to-face subscription rates below 5%.

Representative Yoon pointed out, "The generational polarization in the use of online and mobile banking services is intensifying, causing greater disadvantages for the elderly who are less familiar with online environments compared to the younger generation," and added, "It is necessary to prepare measures to reduce the gap in preferential interest rates between generations, including providing financial education to digitally excluded groups such as the elderly."

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