As part of its overarching grand plan to boost fintech in Korea, the Financial Services Commission of Korea announced the first batch of financial services providers into its financial regulatory sandbox.
Among 19 applications shortlisted for priority review, 9 firms were first allowed to test their innovative services and products in the regulatory sandbox.
For the remaining 10 applications, the FSC will soon decide whether to accept them into the regulatory sandbox at its meeting scheduled for May 2, 2019.
Below are an overview of the companies and commercial activities permitted to experiment within the sandbox
KB Kookmin Bank
Kookmin Bank employs around 26,000 employees and is considered one of the largest banks in Korea.
Approved Activity: Convenient, low-cost financial services combined with mobile communication services
Directional
Directional is a blockchain-based decentralized platform which allows retail investors as well as institutional investors to participate in Securities Borrowing & Lending (SBL)
Approved Activity: Stock lending platform based on blockchain technology offering stock lending and borrowing services for individual investors
Rainist & NH Property and Casualty Insurance
Rainist is an aggregator for financial products in Korea
Approved Activity: ‘On-off traveler’s insurance’ for frequent repurchasers to buy traveler’s insurance policy without verification or additional explanation on the product
Shinhan Card
Shinhan employs over 13,000 employees and is considered to be one of the oldest banks in Korea
Approved Activity:
1.Credit card based money transfer service using PayFan application
2.Credit assessment using Shinhan Card’s affiliate merchant data such as sales record
BC Card
BC card is a major player in Korea’s payment processing space
Approved Activity: Credit card payment service using QR codes for unregistered small stores such as street vendors
Payple
Payple is a payments startup in Korea
Approved Activity: Online easy payment service using mobile text message verification
Root Energy
Root Energy is a crowdfunding platform for renewable energy
Approved Activity: P2P finance service for local residents to invest in new renewable energy generation businesses
