Hana Financial, SKT join forces to step up fintech service

Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom – respectively one of the top five lenders and the largest mobile operator by subscribers in South Korea – are stepping up a joint initiative to expand their presence in fintech, an industry built on making the best of financial and technology companies in the midst of a rush to a digitized economy.

The partnership is the latest high point in a race to grow out of the traditional financial systems by the five banking giants: KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Hana, Woori and NongHyup. The groups have either reached out to technology companies or launched dedicated technology teams in-house to handle increasing transactions – financial and non-financial – taking place online.

Web 3, a decentralized Internet that runs on record-keeping blockchain technology, will be the No. 1 priority in the joint digital push, the two companies said Sunday, noting that the effort will also be led by SK Square, the investment arm of the country’s second-largest conglomerate SK Group.

“Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom have come together for innovation in digital finance, our very first step forward,” said Hana Financial Group Chairman Ham Young-joo, emphasizing the need to face the challenges ahead together.

The three companies will not only invest in start-ups making progress in Web 3 technology, but also come up with platforms themselves, so that users who have signed up for Hana financial services can also “seamlessly step in” to services such as mobile, e- commerce and satellite navigation — all that SK Telecom and Square offer. The SK users, in turn, will reap the benefits of better terms and conditions on the Hana credit cards, for one, according to the firms.

“From now on, we will be at the forefront, improving the customer experience and prioritizing social good,” said SK Telecom CEO Ryu Young-sang, referring to measures to raise public awareness of “social entrepreneurs,” who are chasing financial gains all the time to apply strategies to deal with environmental, social and governance problems that hinder sustainable growth.

Companies that are aware of ESG principles will have opportunities to expand their business, with young entrepreneurs who want to build one also getting the help they need, Ryu said, adding that young Koreans will have tools to increase their financial literacy or learning ways to handle money responsibly. .

Meanwhile, self-employed people running small or medium-sized businesses will get cheaper loans to expand their shops; more painstaking efforts such as introducing unmanned businesses in the face of the pandemic will also be supported, according to Ryu.

The three companies emphasized what they call “hyper-cooperation” — a term Korean business leaders use when they encourage local companies to join forces to fend off stronger global opponents.

By Choi Si-young ([email protected])