"Financial Companies' Lifestyle Subscription Services, Differentiation Is Key"

Hana Financial Management Research Institute Report
"The Key to Service Establishment is Building Trust"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Office worker Hyunshin Park (38 years old, pseudonym) recently applied for a massage chair subscription service through his main bank. With the launch of MyData (personal credit information management) services, he was able to check the rental period, monthly payment amount, payment date, and other rental details of the massage chair all at once through the bank application (app). He was also highly satisfied as he could purchase it at a discount of up to 19%.

As financial companies expand their scope into ‘non-financial lifestyle-linked subscription services’ such as wine, meal kits, and care services, advice has emerged that building trust in the early stages is key to service stabilization. Since consumers have both positive and negative perceptions regarding the expertise and reliability of lifestyle subscription services provided by financial companies, the key is to guide these perceptions in a positive direction.

On the 21st, Sunyoung Yoon, a research fellow at Hana Financial Management Research Institute, released a report titled ‘Financial Companies’ Lifestyle Subscription Services, Consumers Sharing the Same Dream’ and stated this.

With the spread of COVID-19 ushering in a full-fledged non-face-to-face era, financial companies are actively converting existing products and services into subscription formats. The competition with big tech (large information technology companies) and fintech is intensifying, leading to an expansion into lifestyle subscription services. For example, Hanwha Life Insurance introduced a specialized subscription insurance called ‘Life Plus Subscription Insurance,’ which offers services such as wine, meal kits, convenience store beer, and care services, collaborating with digital healthcare platforms. Hana Bank is also planning subscription products that combine convenience store items and financial products in partnership with CU.

However, overcoming the fact that consumers using lifestyle subscription services still find services provided by financial companies unfamiliar remains a challenge. Research fellow Yoon pointed out, “Consumers are positive about using subscription services. However, regarding non-financial lifestyle-linked subscription services provided by financial companies, they show a neutral and watchful attitude, making it difficult to find differentiation points.”

According to a survey conducted by Hana Financial Management Research Institute targeting economically active individuals aged 25 to 59, among current subscription service users, 97.6% (65.4% satisfied, 32.2% neutral) expressed satisfaction at a moderate level or higher. Also, interest in future subscription service use was high, with 76.6% of respondents positive about it. However, only 34.4% showed a positive attitude toward lifestyle subscription services provided by financial companies, while 41.2% maintained a neutral, watchful stance.

Research fellow Yoon emphasized, “Since consumers have both positive and negative perceptions about the expertise and reliability of lifestyle subscription services provided by financial companies, building trust early on is key to service stabilization. For financial companies’ lifestyle subscription services to be recognized as legitimate and activated by consumers, it is necessary to provide value beyond mere economic benefits through service linkage.”

He added, “Financial companies aiming to be ‘comprehensive lifestyle financial platforms’ cannot differentiate themselves simply by linking and expanding non-financial lifestyle services. It is necessary to carefully examine consumer needs and reflect them in the selection of subscription service fields and strategy formulation.” He further suggested, “It is also necessary to consider the potential expansion of subscription services such as ultra-personalized health management, risk protection, and asset management by linking behavioral data obtained through subscriptions with existing financial transaction data and MyData.”

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