The “KB Card Easy Auto Loan” enables a car buyer to pay for a car with his or her credit card and make repayments in monthly installments for 60 months as if repaying a loan.

But the interest charges for the installment financial product vary depending on car model and the amount of the down payment. The holders of KB Card and those whose credit have been cleared by the credit firm can take advantage of the auto financing product, which can cover a loan as much as 100 million won for the purchase of a car, and as little as 3 million won, depending on the credit rating that the card company gave to the card holders. The interest rates charged on the installment loans vary from 4.5 percent per annum to 4.9 percent with only 3.9 percent interest charged if the down payment exceeds 10 percent.

The repayment period is from 12 months to a maximum of 60 months, which is up to the cardholder to select. The amount of debt on the car will also be decided by the cardholder’s credit rating, with 2 percent for fees on the installment financing.

Until April 30, next year, the credit card firm will hold events to select beneficiaries of the 1.5 percent discount on payments in cash for cars for members of its credit card alliance. Applications for the card can be made at the company’s homepage or ARS. A 0.5 percent discount is available after paying a one-time payment of 5 million won in cas; 1.1 percent discount after paying more than 10 million won; 1.2 percent discount for more than 20 million won; and 1.5 percent discount if more than 50 million won is paid in cash. If check cards are used to pay more than 5 million won in one-time cash payments for a car, a 0.8 percent discount will be given in cash. KB Card is making inroads into Vietnam by acquiring a local microfinance firm. The credit card company aims to establish a clearer profile in the Southeast Asian auto finance market by launching into Vietnam following its earlier establishment of a presence in Indonesia and Laos.

According to industry sources on Sept. 11, KB Kookmin Card is about to finalize a deal with Handico Group to acquire the group’s microfinance subsidiary HAFIC. HAFIC is a subsidiary of the state-run construction firm Handico Group, headquartered in Hanoi.

A string of Korean financial firms, including JB Financial Holdings, had shown interest in acquiring HAFIC. JB Financial Holdings gave up its attempt to acquire HAFIC last year due to concerns about the latter’s contingent liabilities.

KB Card is now making various efforts to reduce the risk of HAFIC’s contingent liabilities. At present, KB Financial Holdings is stepping into Southeast Asia’s microcredit market through its subsidiaries such as KB Kookmin Card and KB Capital.

In response to the accelerated globalization in the financial industry, lower profits in the traditional banking operations, expansion of the capital market with the adoption of the Capital Market Integration Act and a higher need for comprehensive financial services, KB Financial Group came into being with the establishment of KB Financial Holding Incorporated on Sept. 29, 2008, made possible by the comprehensive transfer of the stocks of major subsidiaries. 

As of the end of December 2015, KB Financial Group’s total assets stood at 329 trillion won, establishing itself as a comprehensive financial group with the largest number of customers and branches. Vision and Strategy Aspiring toward becoming “Asia Top 10, Global Top 50” under the vision of “global financial group leading the Asian financial industry,” KB Financial Group has launched a phase-by-phase strategy goal. Until 2017, the group continued to consolidate the basis for becoming a global leader of finance by securing a distinctive competitive edge, and recover its leadership in the domestic financial market by 2020 with profit expansion through stable asset growth and improved portfolios.