Kakao Bank, South Korea's second Internet-only bank, said Sunday it has attracted some 800,000 accounts four days since its launch, with combined deposits and loans hovering above 500 billion won ($445.2 million).

The bank said the number of clients came to 826,000 as of 3:00 p.m., with deposits being estimated at 275 billion won. The newly established bank also rolled out loans worth 260 billion won so far. More than 1.48 million users also downloaded the Kakao Bank application.

Its performance far surpassed that of K-Bank, the nation's first Internet-only bank, which kicked off in April.


Kakao Bank was launched by Kakao Corp., the operator of South Korea's most widely used mobile messenger Kakao Talk.

Kakao Bank said the performance is far above its expectations, saying it is making full efforts to provide services to clients without any delays.

Users are allowed to open accounts easily with a mobile phone number and ID card without having to visit a conventional bank branch. (Yonhap)