Kakao Bank Receives Presidential Commendation for Anti-Money Laundering Efforts

19th Anti-Money Laundering Day
Verification Procedures for Document-Based Customer Due Diligence
Customer Risk Management System Recognized

On November 28, Kakao Bank was recognized as an outstanding institution for anti-money laundering (AML) and received the Presidential Commendation at the 19th Anti-Money Laundering Day ceremony hosted by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU).

Kakao Bank was highly praised in this evaluation for proactively establishing an AML system optimized for a non-face-to-face financial environment and for leveraging data technology to precisely block money laundering risks. Key achievements included enhancing the accuracy of non-face-to-face Know Your Customer (KYC) processes using public MyData, activating the suspicious transaction reporting (STR) system through monitoring of financial crimes affecting everyday life, developing a risk assessment model tailored to internet-only banks, and efforts to ensure transparency in virtual asset transactions.

First, Kakao Bank made significant improvements to the non-face-to-face identity verification process by actively adopting public MyData and scraping technology. Instead of having customers enter information themselves, the system automatically collects and verifies data such as address information from resident registration and business type information from business registration certificates. This reduced information errors that can occur in a non-face-to-face environment and increased reliability.

Yoon Ho-young, CEO of Kakao Bank. Kakao Bank

The bank also advanced its "customer risk assessment model," which takes into account the unique characteristics of its channels and products. Through this, customers with a high risk of money laundering, such as those with excessive ATM transactions or those actively trading virtual assets, are precisely classified and managed as high-risk groups. The introduction of intuitive transaction analysis features and the refinement of the large cash transaction reporting (CTR) system have also greatly enhanced monitoring efficiency.

To manage the risks of virtual asset service providers, Kakao Bank established the industry’s first regular consultative body to strengthen communication. The bank actively participates in both the consultative body for establishing the "Virtual Asset Real-Name Account Operation Guidelines" and the consultative group led by the Financial Intelligence Unit, working closely with regulatory authorities.

Additionally, Kakao Bank increased compliance rates by implementing strong policies, such as differentiating the intensity of notifications for customers whose KYC renewal period has arrived and restricting app access for long-term non-compliance. Internally, the bank continues to strengthen the expertise of its dedicated AML staff by inviting experts from law enforcement agencies for special lectures and participating in external professional conferences.

Kakao Bank stated, "As non-face-to-face finance becomes more widespread, anti-money laundering systems must also continuously evolve to fit the digital environment. With this award, we feel an even greater sense of responsibility and will continue to build a more robust and secure financial safety net based on technology and data."

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