Financial watchdog receives applications from three internet-only bank candidates

By Lim Chang-won Posted : March 28, 2019, 08:54 Updated : March 28, 2019, 08:54

[Iclickart]

SEOUL -- Toss, a fintech unicorn which benchmarked European digital challenger banks to open a new internet-only bank, was among three candidates which have sent applications for internet-only bank licenses. Financial regulators will give preliminary approval to one or two candidates in May.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) received applications from three consortia on Wednesday. Toss teamed up with foreign and domestic investors, including Hanwha Investment and Securities and Bespin Global, which develops and offers a cloud management platform.

The second consortium was led by Kiwoom Securities, an online brokerage service company, which partnered with Hana Financial, SK Telecom, Eleven Street and more than 20 others. Anyband Smart Bank was the third consortium involving three unknown partners.

There are two internet-only banks, K bank and Kakao Bank, which have gained popularity by providing diversified loan services and easy lending to young smartphone users. They have forced commercial banks to renovate their online and mobile banking services.
기사 이미지 확대 보기
닫기