FSC promotes fintech and innovation in financial services. In order to encourage convergence and collaboration between finance and information technology, FSC launched the financial regulatory sandbox scheme in April 2019, through which more than one hundred ‘innovative financial services’ have been designated. The regulatory sandbox program allows fintechs and start-ups to test out their ideas without worrying about the regulatory impediments. In addition, Korea’s open banking system was fully launched in December 2019, opening up payment networks to both banks and fintechs through a joint network. By creating a financial data exchange platform, fostering MyData industry and opening up extensive sets of public financial data stored at major public institutions, FSC is also working to create an environment where big data and AI can play a larger role in finance. Policies intended to promote innovation also include providing tailored support to the Korean fintech firms to help them grow and scale up as global unicorns by easing regulations, expanding investment and providing assistance for overseas business expansion.
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May 14, 2020
- Overview of Financial Regulatory Sandbox
- The FSC has been operating a financial regulatory sandbox program since April 1, 2019 to promote competition and innovation in the financial industry and provide more benefits to consumers.OVERVIEWA total of 102 ‘innovative financial services’ have been designated so far through fourteen evaluation committee meetings. Under the regulatory sandbox program, the designated firms are granted exemptions from licensing and other sales regulations for up to four years. The evaluation is based on the level of innovativeness, potential contribution to consumer convenience, and the soundness and feasibility of business plan.Among the 102 designated service providers, fintech firms (54 cases, 53%) made up a majority, followed by financial institutions (39 cases, 38%), IT firms (6 cases, 6%) and public sector institutions (3 cases, 3%).By service types, banks were most numerous (16 cases), followed by insurance services (15 cases), capital markets-related services (15 cases), loan comparison services (14 cases), payment cards (13 cases), data services (12 cases), electronic finance (11 cases), foreign exchange (3 cases) and others (3 cases).As of now, 36 ‘innovative financial services’ are at the stage of market test with 66 more expected to be launched in the first half this year.FINANCIAL INNOVATIONINCREASING BENEFITS TO CONSUMERS: a) The shift away from a supplier-driven market toward a more consumer-oriented environment has lowered costs for financial services in the form of interest payments, insurance premiums, etc., b) With the launching of easy-to-use financial services in everyday life, consumer access to financial services has been improved, c) Development of specific services tailored to the needs of SMEs and small-scale businesses has helped extend more financing opportunities to those that had been traditionally unable to access financial services, d) Innovative financial services have contributed to addressing various social problems in the areas of renewa
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May 13, 2020
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May 11, 2020
- Financial Data Exchange Platform Launched
- FSC Vice Chairman Sohn Byungdoo attended a launch event of the financial data exchange platform on May 11. During his congratulatory remarks, Vice Chairman Sohn stressed the importance of turning the current crisis situation into an opportunity and to continue to work on the government’s post-COVID-19 innovation in digital finance. The financial data exchange platform will be test launched to provide a secure one-stop distribution service.KEY FUNCTIONS► HIGH-SECURITY DATA EXCHANGE: a) Provide a highly secure data delivery method which allows the user to analyze and utilize data within the platform, b) Provide the FSI with the tools to safely transfer data during the exchange process, c) Prevent data leakage by having a thorough internal security control system► SAFE PROVISION OF PSEUDONYMIZED ANONYMIZED DATA: Confirm the appropriateness of the pseudonymized and anonymized data, as well as the information protection measures of the data seeker prior to the data transfer► DATA DISTRIBUTION CONVERGENCE: Designate the FSI, Korea Credit Information Services and Korea Financial Telecommunications Clearings Institutes as the financial data specializing institutions authorized to carry out data convergence and other relevant tasksFURTHER PLANS► DATA DISTRIBUTION GUIDELINES: Establish financial data distribution guidelines detailing the types and utilization of data products, distribution process, data standards and pricing details, things to consider prior to signing contracts, post-distribution management, etc.► DATA EXCHANGE VOUCHERS: Provide data vouchers to promote data exchange transactions at the onsetEXPECTATIONThe government expects that the financial data exchange platform will help establish a safe and secure marketplace for the distribution of financial big data. It will also foster new data-driven business opportunities for fintech start-ups and promote data convergence and utilization with non-financial data, which will lead to the development of ne
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May 11, 2020
- 2020 Online Korea Fintech Week to Start May 28
- The FSC will hold the 2020 Online Korea Fintech Week from May 28. With the theme of “Fintech for Open Innovation,” this year’s virtual expo will feature special information sessions, virtual exhibitions and an online job fair.The following is a schedule of the virtual expo.(OPENING SESSION) Welcoming remarks, congratulatory remarks by key dignitaries(SPECIAL SESSIONS) Key information sessions and seminars about open innovation, industry trends in domestic and foreign marketsa) FSC: Digital finance innovation in Koreab) FSS: Showcasing regtech and suptech firmsc) KPMG: Korean fintech industry in 2020 policy trendsd) World Bank: Digital finance for crisis response and economic development – Role of the WBe) VISA-Fintech Center Korea: Sharing a successful collaboration lesson between a global financial company and a fintechf) KFTC: Open banking – achievements and futureg) FSI: Financial data security in the era of 4th industrial revolutionh) KOSCOM: Financial cloud computing and compliance in financial services(ONLINE JOB FAIR) Co-hosted by the Fintech Center Korea and Korea Internet Security Agency and participated by 34 hiring institutions looking for 40 new hires(VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS) The six virtual exhibition halls will be organized into a fintech ecosystem hall, a financial enterprise hall, a fintech start-up hall, a fintech scale-up hall, a big tech hall and a global enterprise hall, participated by about 150 firms(CYBER VOICE PHISHING PREVENTION HALL) Introduce voice phishing prevention app and the relevant technology and provide education on how to detect voice phishingFor further information, please contact the Fintech Center Korea via email at fintechweek@fintechcenter.or.kr or by phone at +82-70-4150-4490 and +82-70-8873-9006.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Apr 13, 2020
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Apr 09, 2020
- Fintech Innovation Fund to Invest More than KRW85.5 billion in Fintech Firms in 2020
- The FSC announced on April 9 that the fintech innovation fund created in December 2019 will be put to use with direct investment expected in the amount of KRW20 billion in April this year. With many fintech firms expected to have troubles finding investment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the FSC will continue to encourage effective and prompt investment through the fintech innovation fund.BACKGROUNDThe fintech innovation fund in the amount of KRW300 billion for a 4-year period (2020-2023) was created on December 23, 2019, led by major financial holding companies, banks and Koscom, to make more funding for investment available for innovative fintech firms. It is a fund of funds that provides tailored investments to fintechs from start-up to scale-up stages.For fintech start-ups with less than 5 years of experience, blind-pool feeder funds will be created for investment of about KRW150 billion. For scale-ups, project investment feeder funds will be established in the amount of KRW150 billion.Based on the future direction of fund management and market demand, the size of the fund of funds may be expanded to KRW500 billion over six years.PLANS FOR 2020A total of more than KRW85.5 billion in investment will be made available to fintech firms through the fintech innovation fund in 2020.► START-UPS: At least three feeder funds will be established with about KRW48 billion in investment. Korea Investment Partners and KB Investment have been selected as the designated fund management companies for this year with each managing KRW22.5 billion. In the second quarter, another fund manager will be designated for the management of a feeder fund specifically designed for a fintech accelerator or a foreign based fintech beginning in the fourth quarter.► SCALE-UPS: The first investment will be made in the amount of KRW20 billion to three fintech firms (big data, blockchain and foreign-based financial platform) in April and an additional investment of at least KRW17.5 billion will be
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Apr 03, 2020
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Apr 02, 2020
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Apr 01, 2020
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Mar 31, 2020
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Mar 31, 2020
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Mar 23, 2020
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Mar 18, 2020
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Feb 20, 2020
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Feb 13, 2020
- FSC to Hold Information Session on Revised Credit Information Act
- The Financial Services Commission will hold an information session on February 20, 2020 on the amendment of the Credit Information Use and Protection Act, which is scheduled to take effect starting August 5, 2020. The information session will provide useful information about the revised law, while offering the government a chance to listen to and gather opinions from diverse stakeholders. The FSC will revise relevant rules and regulations prior to the effective date while working to reflect public opinions.KEY FEATURES OF THE AMENDMENT► ESTABLISHING NEW LEGAL BASIS FOR USING AND ANALYZING BIG DATA- Pseudonymised personal information may be used without consent for statistical, industry research and public documentation purposes.- Converging data is permitted only by the institutions designated by the government.- Safety measures are established for the use and convergence of pseudonymised data, including a prohibition on re-identification of pseudonymised data and a requirement for separate management of additional information. ► STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION PROTECTION COMMISSION- The revision bill on the Personal Information Protection Act upgrades the status of the Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) from an administrative commission to that of a central administrative agency with authority to conduct investigations, regulate commercial enterprises and implement relevant laws.► IMPROVING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ON CREDIT BUREAU INDUSTRY- The credit bureau industry will be categorized into a) personal CB, b) individual business CB and c) corporate CB, while the entry barrier for credit bureau businesses will be lowered.- The current regulation which restricts credit bureau businesses from performing for-profit operations will be lifted, and credit bureau businesses will be allowed to conduct data analysis and processing as well as consulting.- Conduct regulations will be established to improve the soundness of the credit bureau in
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Jan 28, 2020
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Jan 21, 2020
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Jan 15, 2020
- FSC to Hold 2020 Korea Fintech Week
- The Financial Services Commission will hold the 2020 Korea Fintech Week from May 28 to 30, 2020 at Dongdaemoon Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul to promote fintech and innovation in the financial industry. BACKGROUND The FSC hosted Koreas first global fintech expo in 2019, providing opportunities for networking and information sharing on the latest trends in fintech. The three-day event was attended by more than 10,000 people. Connecting fintech firms with both domestic and foreign investors, the 2019 Korea Fintech Week attracted about KRW30 billion worth of investment in fintech businesses. 2020 KOREA FINTECH WEEK This years Korea Fintech Week is aimed at supporting fintech scale-ups. It will be held under the theme of Fintech for Open Innovation. Centered on the governments policy to support fintech firms to scale up,1 the three-day expo will feature programs, such as seminars, special sessions, educational programs, idea contest exhibition, etc. REGISTRATION SCHEDULE Preliminary application for participation in the 2020 Korea Fintech Week will be available starting from the second week of April through www.fintechweek.or.kr/2020. For further information, please contact the Fintech Center Korea via email fintechweek@fintechcenter.or.kr or by phone +82-70-8873-9005, 9006. * Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
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Jan 09, 2020
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Dec 23, 2019
- FSC Reforms Non-Face-to-Face Customer ID Guidelines for Corporations and Foreigners
- The Financial Services Commission unveiled a revised guideline for non-face-to-face customer identification on December 20, which is aimed at promoting online financial transactions by corporations and foreigners.BACKGROUNDThe non-face-to-face customer identification was first introduced to the banking sector in December 2015 for the purpose of improving consumer convenience. It was a major shift from the face-to-face identification method which had been in place for more than 20 years since the implementation of the real name financial transactions in August 1993. In February 2016, the non-face-to-face identification expanded to the non-banking sector (e.g. financial investment business and mutual banks).In January 2017, the FSC allowed corporations to open a new bank account though non-face-to-face customer identification; however, for corporations, only one representative could be identified through non-face-to-face identification method to prevent financial crimes, such as identify theft.Since its introduction, the number of new bank accounts opened through non-face-to-face customer identification has continued to increase. CHANGESFor corporations, opening a new corporate bank account by legal representatives, such as an employee or a board member, through non-face-to-face customer identification will be permitted. Legal representatives must present a power of attorney to financial companies for verification purposes.For foreigners, the alien registration card may be used to verify identity when opening a new bank account through non-face-to-face customer identification.SCHEDULEThe changes will go into effect on January 1, 2020, although each financial institution will determine whether and when to adopt non-face-to-face customer identification service for corporations. In January 2020, banks and financial investment sectors will draw up operational guidance in that regard.* Please refer to the attached PDF for details.
