Record-low yen drives massive funds into yen... Over 1 trillion yen in just half a year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

#Office worker Kim Ji-seon (33, pseudonym) has found enjoyment in currency tech (exchange rate + financial technology) instead of stock investment. Since early last month, Kim has started investing in the Japanese yen and has earned about 200,000 won in profit so far. Although her profit margin decreased somewhat this month due to a strategy of putting in and taking out funds, she plans to continuously research currency tech methods.

Large sums flocking to the Japanese yen

According to the financial sector on the 13th, the yen exchange rate is recorded at 958 won per 100 yen. The yen-dollar exchange rate has surpassed the 130 yen mark, standing at 136.81 yen per dollar. Recently, the yen's value against the dollar has fallen to its lowest level in 24 years since 1998. On the morning of the 11th, the yen-dollar exchange rate even surged to 137.28 yen per dollar during intraday trading.

Because of this, the sentiment of "let's buy yen while it's cheap" continues, and money is pouring into yen deposits. The balance of yen deposits at the five major commercial banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori, Hana, NongHyup) is about 603.1 billion yen (as of the 11th), an increase of 48.8 billion yen (0.82%) compared to the previous month. The balance of yen deposits has been increasing monthly. In May this year, it was 553.6 billion yen, and in June, 598.2 billion yen. Compared to the end of last year, it has increased by 106.4 billion yen (21%). In half a year, about 1.0184 trillion won has flowed into yen deposits.

Looking at the "Resident Foreign Currency Deposit Trends" announced by the Bank of Korea last month, the balance of yen deposits held by domestic residents at the end of May was a total of 5.48 billion dollars (about 7.1733 trillion won), which was the only foreign currency deposit balance to increase compared to the end of last year (5.25 billion dollars). With Japan allowing group tourists to enter, the number of office workers and students gathering yen for travel is also increasing. Office worker Lee Young-eun (29) said, "I have been steadily collecting yen since the exchange rate dropped to the 900 won range," adding, "Although the purpose is to gain exchange profits, I also plan to use it for travel to Japan later."

Meanwhile, due to the continued strong dollar phenomenon, the balance of dollar deposits is also showing an increasing trend. The balance of dollar deposits at the five major commercial banks is 57.1 billion dollars, about 200 million dollars more than the previous month. It was 53.6 billion dollars in May and 56.9 billion dollars last month. However, compared to the end of last year (59.4 billion dollars), the dollar deposit balance has decreased by about 2.3 billion dollars (4%). It is interpreted that currency tech enthusiasts moved to realize profits as the dollar rose.

Banks also courting ‘currency tech enthusiasts’

In line with this, commercial banks are putting effort into strategies to attract currency tech enthusiasts. Hana Bank recently launched the foreign exchange trading service ‘Hana FX Market.’ It provides services such as immediate and scheduled foreign exchange trading, currency exchange, and exchange rate alerts. A Hana Bank official explained, "As the volatility of exchange rates has recently increased, this is to allow customers with a need for currency tech to easily experience it and to provide high preferential exchange rates."

KB Kookmin Bank is running the ‘KB Foreign Currency Money Box Exchange Rate Discount 99% Event’ until the end of this month. The ‘KB Foreign Currency Money Box Exchange Service’ allows free exchange, storage, and withdrawal of foreign currency through KB Star Banking. NH NongHyup is also conducting the ‘All One Foreign Currency Pocket Installment Savings’ event until the end of this month. The All One Foreign Currency Pocket Installment Savings is an NH All One Bank exclusive foreign currency installment savings product that can be subscribed to in four currencies (USD, EUR, JPY, CNY), offering preferential exchange rates (up to 70%) and cash handling fee discounts (60%) on an ongoing basis. Lee Yeon-ho, head of the Corporate Investment Finance Division at NongHyup Bank, said, "The trend of subscribing to foreign currency deposits through non-face-to-face channels is gradually increasing."

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