SEOUL: South Korea’s Ministry of Strategy and Finance has announced that insurance firms may soon be allowed to process overseas remittances for foreign residents in Korea and Korean students studying abroad, the Korea Times reported.
The plan to allow insurers and brokerages to handle remittances is part of the government’s efforts to promote the country’s financial technology (fintech) sector, the ministry was quoted in the report as saying. Currently, only traditional banks are allowed to handle overseas remittance services in South Korea.
As of last year, there were over 1.8 million foreign residents in Korea and Korean students abroad, the ministry revealed. Allowing non-banking and fintech firms to handle remittances will benefit customers because of the reduced foreign exchange fees, one official was quoted as saying.
An official of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) revealed that while the country’s fintech is ahead in terms of IT firms assisting financial companies, South Korea’s internet banks and remittances in foreign currency through the non-banking sector continues to lag behind.
