Hana Card was named the winner of the 2015 Dasan Financial Award in the credit financing section of the Financial Industry, marking a significant milestone after taking over SK Card, a leader in the mobile card market, and KEB Card.
The credit card company was able to cut expenses and expand its market, which led 25.4 billion won in net profit in the first three quarters of last year, recovering from a deficit of 11.2 billion won for the whole of 2014.
Financial market sources attribute Hana Card’s surprising result to synergy it gained following the mergers, which was much greater than what was originally expected.
The credit card firm introduced for the first time in the industry the USIM mobile card, the Mobi One, which strengthened its position as a leading credit card firm in the mobile card sector in Korea. The Mobi One card can be used with smartphones without using a credit card. In October, the company issued the Mobi One card in cooperation with SPC Group to strengthen its operation in the new credit card business area.
Hana Card’s mobile card confirms a subscriber’s application with the user’s USIM, including the verification of names and other information for its subscribers. Applicants can only use their smartphones when applying for membership.
Last year, the card company allowed smartphones and credit cards for certification of the membership. The card firm also introduced the Mobipay, an app.-card method simple-settlement system, which is separate from the mobile card pay settlement service. The move strengthened its position in the mobile card pay settlement market.
Hana Card issued 3.5 million cards within one year of the launch of the services, including 1.9 million USIM-type mobile cards and 1.6 million Mobipay cards. Volume for its mobile pay settlement cards last year totaled some 1.5 trillion.
In the first quarter this year, the credit card firm also plans to introduce a system with which Mobipay users can make offline payments, using facial and palm re recognition for verification of users. It’s hoped that the technology will give the company a competitive edge in the Fintech industry.
KEB Card is a leader in the global payment market with a long history that includes introducing a credit card system in South Korea for the first time in 1978.
Hana SK Card, on the other hand, is an innovator that merged IT with finance to create an entirely new mobile payment market. The two powerful entities have merged to usher in the mobile era and bring their services to the rest of the world.
“This merger is expected to further accentuate the two companies’ respective strengths, maximize our collective capacity and produce synergy that will benefit all parties involved, resulting in better products and services for our clients,” according to Hana Card.
As a new member of Hana Financial Group, Hana Card has promised to grow alongside its clients as a trusted leader in the payment market.
“We will rebuild KEB Card to its former glory, lead the era of mobile payments, and expand out into the world, while never forgetting to listen to the voices of our clients or trying to connect with them on a heart-to-heart basis,” said President Chung Hae-bung of Hana Card.
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A view of a Mobi One, a mobile credit card, not made of plastics that Hana Card issued for the first time in the industry around a year ago last year.(Photos:Hana Card)
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