Amid the lingering virus pandemic, South Korea’s online banks are expanding their foothold faster than expected, and are gearing up for IPOs and partnerships with financial behemoths.

Recent unauthorized payments on money transfer platform Toss are stoking concerns about the safety of payment solutions in general and online financial services available in South Korea. Online purchases worth 9.38 million ($7,770) were made on websites without permission of Toss account holders earlier this month using their personal data. Although initial inspections by the financial authority showed that users’ personal data were not compromised via the fintech platform itself, the i

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on domestic banks this year, with lower interest rate margins and enhanced loan regulations. The key challenge, however, is not the tangible loss so far, but rather the forthcoming competition in the digital arena -- where conventional financial firms find themselves overrun by big tech rivals. Racing against the clock, the conventional financial industry is now scrambling to grab the digital initiative, in line with the ongoing deregulatory

IT experts from firms including Samsung hired for banks’ digitalization leadership, swift changes due with branch closures, machines replacing tellers