Catch the MZ Generation... Card Companies Immersed in the 'NFT Craze'

Shinhan Card Launches First NFT Service... KB Kookmin Card and BlocoXYZ Sign MOU

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Domestic credit card companies are stepping into the future growth area of 'Non-Fungible Token (NFT)' business. As interest in NFTs is rising mainly among the MZ generation (born between 1980 and 2000), they aim to enhance accessibility by incorporating NFTs into each company's services.

According to the industry on the 31st, major domestic credit card companies such as Shinhan Card and KB Kookmin Card have recently launched or are preparing NFT-related services. The fastest mover is Shinhan Card. Earlier this month, Shinhan Card opened the financial sector's first NFT-applied service called 'My NFT.' This service allows users to register items they own or moments they want to cherish as NFTs and view them anytime through Shinhan Play.

Shinhan Card's My NFT is built on Kakao's blockchain platform 'Klaytn,' enabling any customer to easily and conveniently create NFTs via KakaoTalk, with potential connections and expansions to global NFT platforms. This service currently does not support NFT trading or distribution functions but allows NFT creation and viewing only.

In the future, Shinhan Card plans to expand the ecosystem by connecting with companies and platforms utilizing NFTs. They are currently building NFT services for authenticating various products, including sneakers, in partnership with Bungaejangter, a strategic partner, and plan to connect platforms with manufacturers and distributors as well.

A Shinhan Card representative said, "We focused on the potential of NFTs that can be used in various fields and the core blockchain functions of digital storage and viewing," adding, "We will continue efforts to establish this as a lifestyle platform where customers can keep not only their financial assets but also precious belongings and memories."

KB Kookmin Card has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with blockchain specialist company BlockoXYZ for related business. BlockoXYZ's expertise in blockchain and NFT-based social media service system integration and solutions will be applied to KB Kookmin Card's integrated membership service 'Liiv Mate.'

In particular, KB Kookmin Card plans to conduct various events using NFTs, which are attracting much interest from younger generations, and promote various NFT-related services linked with Liiv Mate's MyData service. A KB Kookmin Card official stated, "As part of our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management, we are reviewing the promotion of various NFT services linked with MyData services, including providing opportunities for promising young artists through Liiv Mate."

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