BC Card: "Financial Infrastructure Should Be Designated as a National Strategic Export Sector"

New Finance Research Institute Presents at Korean International Economic Association Spring Policy Seminar
Proposes Three Major Policy Visions and Five Key Strategies for Financial Infrastructure Export

BC Card emphasized the need for public-private cooperation to globalize so-called "K-Payment" systems, targeting the domestic economics community. The company delivered the message that financial infrastructure should be designated as a national strategic export sector.

Woo Sanghyun, Vice President and Head of the New Finance Research Institute at BC Card, is giving a presentation on "Financial Infrastructure Export Strategy and Expected Effects" at the Spring Policy Seminar of the Korean International Economic Association held on the afternoon of the 30th at the Seoul Tourism Plaza in Jongno-gu, Seoul. BC Card

On April 30, the New Finance Research Institute under BC Card participated as a presenter at the Spring Policy Seminar co-hosted by the Korean International Economic Association, the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, and the Bank of Korea at Seoul Tourism Plaza in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where it made this statement.

The New Finance Research Institute, represented by Woo Sanghyun, Vice President and Head of the institute, along with former researchers, gave a presentation on "Financial Infrastructure Export Strategy and Expected Effects."

The institute asserted that financial infrastructure exports should be developed as a next-generation economic cooperation model and a strategic task at the government level. Rather than the traditional approach of acquiring local financial institutions to conduct lending and deposit businesses, the institute proposed transferring the payment infrastructure construction and operational expertise that BC Card has accumulated over more than 40 years.

BC Card was cited as a representative example. BC Card is the only specialized payment processing company in Korea. Since 2014, it has been working with central banks and other institutions in developing Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan to build and upgrade payment infrastructure.

These countries have improved operational efficiency by establishing financial infrastructure and unifying payment networks. They have formalized cash-based underground economies to secure tax revenue and enhance transaction transparency. In addition, they have addressed gaps in social welfare services through electronic voucher platform-based systems.

For example, Indonesia expanded its payment network from a single bank to 16 banks and developed integrated terminals, greatly improving payment convenience and efficiency. Kyrgyzstan is pursuing a digital transformation of its public voucher system by introducing K-Payment infrastructure. Uzbekistan is building an alternative financial ecosystem by utilizing an artificial intelligence (AI)-based credit scoring model.

The New Finance Research Institute presented three major policy visions and five key strategies for financial infrastructure export. The three visions are: designating digital financial infrastructure as a strategic export sector; planning payment network-centered development cooperation in connection with the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF); and encouraging participation from a variety of private companies. The five strategies are: policy finance, regulatory flexibility, knowledge-sharing projects, public-private consortiums, and diplomatic follow-up measures.

The core of these is designating financial infrastructure as a strategic export sector, which is one of the three major visions. The institute argued that financial infrastructure is social overhead capital (SOC) directly linked to the national economic structure, and thus should be promoted as a mid- to long-term export business. In order to increase exports, it is necessary to foster friendly relations with local authorities to minimize risks, so financial infrastructure should be developed as a national strategic project at the government level.

Vice President Woo said, "A financial infrastructure export strategy centered on payment processing technology can accelerate the digital economic transformation and payment network sovereignty of partner countries, while effectively promoting Korea's advanced digital finance to the world. If government-level support and development are provided in addition to private sector efforts, this will become a more sustainable export strategy."

Heo Hyunseung, Professor of Economics at Yonsei University and President of the Korean International Economic Association, said, "The government, in its efforts to strengthen digital economic diplomacy, should pay attention to financial infrastructure exports as well as capital-intensive SOC such as railroads and ports. Spreading Korea's advanced payment technology systems and platforms can promote ongoing exchanges with partner countries and serve as an opportunity to enhance national competitiveness."

Meanwhile, the New Finance Research Institute plans to continue joint research with the Korean International Economic Association after signing a strategic business agreement, focusing on the economic effects of the financial infrastructure export model and its development as a national strategic project.

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