The Financial Supervisory Service Reports Over Threefold Increase in Non-Face-to-Face Financial Transaction Complaints in the Past Five Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] Complaints related to non-face-to-face financial transactions have more than tripled over the past five years. Among them, complaints related to banks accounted for nearly half of the total.

According to the Financial Supervisory Service on the 11th, a total of 5,069 complaints regarding non-face-to-face financial transactions were recorded from 2017 to September 2022. The number increased more than threefold from 415 cases in 2017 to 1,463 cases in 2021 over five years.

Banks accounted for the largest share with 2,472 cases (48.8%). The complaints mainly involved inconveniences when using internet and mobile banking and issues related to financial crimes. Non-bank institutions accounted for 1,076 cases (21.2%), with major complaints concerning insufficient explanations of additional services such as card payments and revolving credit, as well as unauthorized card use. Insurance-related complaints totaled 693 cases (13.7%), mostly involving insufficient explanations or lack of understanding of products during the recruitment process through non-face-to-face channels such as internet and telephone. Financial investment complaints numbered 666 cases (13.1%), with many related to system failures in Home Trading Service (HTS) and Mobile Trading Service (MTS), as well as transaction fees on accounts opened non-face-to-face.

As non-face-to-face financial transactions expand, related complaints continue to increase. The proportion of non-face-to-face account openings at banks rose from 44.4% in 2017 to 76.1% in 2021. In financial investments, the ratio of non-face-to-face stock trading using MTS and HTS increased from 58.5% in 2017 to 71.3% in 2021. In insurance, the proportion of non-face-to-face recruitment through telemarketing (TM) and cybermarketing (CM) grew from 10.0% in 2017 to 11.3% in 2021.

In response, the Financial Supervisory Service has provided consumer precautions related to non-face-to-face financial transactions to prevent consumer damage. When trading non-face-to-face financial products, consumers should verify whether the product suits their investment propensity and carefully consider risks if the risk rating is higher than their investment profile before investing prudently. If it is difficult to understand when purchasing insurance by phone, consumers should request detailed explanations or check specific information through product brochures before subscribing. Even after subscription, consumers should review the insurance product details through the policy documents and other contract materials received. In principle, consumers can freely withdraw their subscription within 15 days from the date of receiving the insurance policy or within 30 days from the subscription date, whichever comes first.

Consumers should be aware that if personal information such as identification cards is leaked, they may be exposed to financial crimes such as account opening or loan execution through identity theft. When receiving requests for personal information via refinancing loan guidance, delivery notifications, or calls/messages impersonating acquaintances, it is necessary to verify their authenticity. When conducting transactions through platform searches, consumers should carefully review the financial company's terms and conditions and product brochures. This is because the loan limits and interest rates displayed during loan product comparisons may differ from the actual financial institution’s screening results.

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