Internet-only kakaobank hoards 300,000 users on first day of service

By Park Sae-jin Posted : July 28, 2017, 14:57 Updated : July 28, 2017, 15:06


[Yonhap Photo]


Hundreds of thousands of people have rushed to open an account at Kakao Bank, South Korea's second internet-only banking firms, with more than 300,000 clients securing membership in the first 24 hours of its official launch.

The explosive popularity of Kakao Bank run by web service giant Kakao surprised South Korea's financial community which has been dominated by large commercial banks known for their picky and haughty attitude in lending.

On the first day, some 300,500 clients opened accounts, Kakao Bank said Friday, adding a double number of users had tried to log on, sparking an intermittent traffic jam. Deposits stood at 74 billion won (6.6 million US dollars) and made loans estimated at 50 billion won.

Kakao's successful launch was somewhat expected but not this much. K-Bank, the first online banking service launched in early April, attracted 240,000 members in 24 days. 
Those trying to download a Kakao Bank app had experienced connection failures and app feature malfunctions. The service has gradually come back to normal at around midnight Thursday.

 
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