Industrial Bank of Korea (IBK) signed an MOU to support SMEs in Korea and Hungary’s Magyar Fejlesztési Bank (MFB) in Budapest, Hungary on Oct. 2, local time.
This agreement was signed to support SMEs facing difficulties due to changing external trade conditions, including entering the European market and market diversification.
Hungary is a hub with excellent access to the European Union’s single market and MFB, a specialized SME policy finance institution, is well-positioned to support SMEs through loans, investments, and guarantees.
Kim Hyung-il, an executive director of IBK and Zoltán Zsámboki, managing director of MFB pose for a photo at the MOU Signing Ceremony for Supporting SMEs in Korea and Hungary in Budapest, Hungary on Oct. 2.
Through this agreement, the two organizations will establish a joint fund to provide financial support to companies operating in both countries, support Korean startups wishing to enter the European market and promote research exchanges related to SME finance.
Through this agreement, IBK plans to support Korean companies’ investment and funding in Poland.
“This collaboration will be of great help in supporting the global market entry of Korean and Hungarian companies and creating growth engines,” said Kim Sung-tae, president of IBK.
“We will continue to support Korean companies’ smooth overseas expansion through international cooperation with specialized policy and private financial institutions specializing in SME support in major countries.”
Meanwhile, IBK is actively pursuing the establishment of the IBK Europe International Cooperation Belt through collaborations with major European financial institutions.
These include signing business agreements with Bpifrance, a French policy finance institution, in 2023, Finnvera, a Finnish policy finance institution, in 2024 and Commerzbank, a leading German commercial bank, in 2025.
Launch of Two Credit Cards Specialized for Self-Employed People
IBK announced the launch of “B-RETAIL” and “B-F&B,” specialized cards designed to reflect the consumption patterns of self-employed people on Sept. 28.
These credit cards were designed based on payment data from the wholesale, retail, and restaurant industries, which see a high number of new self-employed individuals, and offers differentiated benefits for them when they use the industries.
Both credit cards offer unlimited point accumulation (1% in Korea and 2% abroad).
Additionally, they offer a 2% rewards bonus on common spending categories including the four major insurance policies, electricity, city gas, mobile communications, online shopping (Coupang, Naver, 11ST and Gmarket) and job platforms (Albamon and Job Korea).
Special benefits are also provided for the use of each of the credit cards. B-RETAIL offers a 2% rewards bonus on gas stations and LPG filling stations while B-F&B offers a 2% rewards bonus on purchases at hypermarkets and supermarkets.
Point accrual in the common category is unlimited, while the specialized categories allow for up to 200,000 points per month (50,000 points per category).
The annual membership fee is 23,000 won for the domestic-only (BC) cards and 25,000 for the international-use (Mastercard) cards.
2025 Seoul Fintech Week Demo Day with IBK
IBK concluded the “2025 Seoul Fintech Week Demo Day with IBK” with the Seoul Metropolitan Government at the Conrad Seoul in Yeouido of Seoul on Sept. 30.
This event, the second day of the Seoul Fintech Week 2025 was organized by IBK 1st LAB, IBK’s open innovation testbed, and Seoul Fintech Lab, Korea’s largest fintech incubator, to support fintech startups in attracting investment and forming business partnerships.
A total of 12 participating companies pitched their investment attractions to a panel of 12 judges, including investment reviewers from IBK Financial Group and venture capital firms.
As a result of the Demo Day evaluation, Whatssub received the IBK Special Prize, Fairytech the Seoul Fintech Innovation Prize and KRG Group the Popularity Prize.
The three winning companies will receive special benefits. In particular, Whatssub was given an opportunity to move into IBK 1st LAB and have a PoC.
Fairytech was allowed to use space at Seoul Fintech Lab. KRG Group took home one-year membership at Seoul Fintech Lab.
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