Korean financial companies are increasingly targeting expats as the number of foreign residents in the country surpassed the 1 million mark.

KB Kookmin Bank is in the front line as its number of foreign customers, both residents and nonresidents, has been rising thanks largely to its tailored banking services.

The bank notably introduced in 2012 a special deposit service called “KB Welcome” for expatriates, offering benefits such as exemption from bank commissions for currency exchanges, and reduction in charges for overseas transfers. Foreigners had opened a total of 33,000 accounts at the bank as of March 2014, KB said.

To help ease the language barrier for expats, KB currently operates foreigner-friendly customer service centers at three major branches in Seoul, offering financial services in several languages, including English, Japanese, Vietnamese and Russian.

The three branches, in particular, run seven days a week to target foreign workers who do not have the time to visit during the week.

KB Kookmin Bank established a division customized for foreign customers in 2012 with an aim to streamline its financial services for expats in Korea.

It also introduced an employee guidebook detailing the customs and cultures of other countries to help customer service agents better consult with foreign customers.

In addition, the bank signed a partnership deal last year with the Korea Information and Communication to provide a value-added tax refund service for foreign tourists. It currently runs two tax refund booths in popular tourist areas, namely its branches in Myeong-dong in central Seoul and on Jejudo Island.

“The tax refund service is one of our bank’s efforts to attract foreign tourists in the country that surpassed 10 million last year,” a spokesman of KB Kookmin Bank said.

“We’ll continue to improve our financial service to make more convenient for foreign customers,” he added.

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)