South Koreans to order food via bank apps in 2021

According to the Financial Services Commission’s key policy tasks for the financial sector in 2021, the authority will revise its financial regulatory system in July 2021 to allow local banks to operate nonfinancial services like food delivery via their mobile applications. In addition, the authority will enable more financial entities, including commercial banks, local savings banks, brokerages, and credit card operators to set up ‘open banking’ services, through which customers can manage accounts at multiple financial entities by using a single mobile financial application.

Meanwhile, in continued efforts to help the virus-battered businesses, the FSC will implement emergency loan programs worth USD 2.76 billion targeting small merchants, who have suffered from the government’s recent ban on private gatherings of five or more people to combat a rapid resurgence of the COVID-19. Also, maximum legal lending will be cut to 20% per annum from the current 24% starting in February 2021, which would ease financial burdens on heavy debtors hit hard by the pandemic.