Allowing Savings and Deposit Recommendation Sites... Will Consumer Benefits Increase?

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] Starting from the second quarter of next year, consumers will be able to easily compare and receive recommendations for savings and deposit products from multiple banks using fintech platforms. This is because the Financial Services Commission has paved the way to allow comparison and recommendation of deposit products through platforms.

On the 9th, the Financial Services Commission designated online deposit product services from nine companies (eight fintech firms and one bank) as "Innovative Financial Services." Once designated as an Innovative Financial Service, companies can temporarily offer services that are currently restricted by regulations. In other words, they receive regulatory exemptions. Under the current Financial Consumer Protection Act, there are regulations that companies must follow when brokering loans, insurance, and financial investment products, but there is no regulatory framework for deposit products. In the absence of any regulation on deposit product brokerage, the exemption allows these companies not only to compare deposit products but also to directly recommend them to consumers.

So, which companies received the exemption? Among banks, Shinhan Bank is the only one. The rest are all fintech companies, including Naver Financial, BankSalad, NHN Payco, and Fink. Notably, Kakao Pay was excluded. Previously, Kakao Pay had provided services comparing interest rates of savings and deposit products using interest rate data disclosed on the Financial Supervisory Service’s Consumer Information Portal. However, since it was not selected as an innovative business designated for exemption, it seems likely that the gap between Kakao Pay and these companies will widen for the time being. This appears to be a consequence of last month’s data center incident involving the Kakao community.

In any case, through the financial authorities’ services, consumers will be able to not only easily compare deposit products from various financial companies but also receive "recommendations." Through platforms, consumers can quickly identify high-interest products from banks and, in connection with services like MyData, receive recommendations better suited to their asset situations. Products from regional banks in other areas, which previously had limited accessibility, will also become easier to find. However, the exact launch date has not yet been determined. The financial authorities believe that, given the increased difficulty in liquidity management in the financial sector due to rising market interest rates, the launch timing needs to be adjusted to prevent significant side effects.

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