(from left) KEB Hana Bank President Ham Young-joo, Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai, President Min Ung-jun of Finnq Co., and SK Telecom President Park Jung-ho participate in a ceremony to release the financial application Finnq at the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Myeongdong, downtown Seoul, on Sept. 4. (Photo: KEB Hana Bank)

A  joint venture between Hana Financial Group and SK Telecm has launched the lifestyle financial platform “Finnq.”

Participating in a ceremony to release the financial application Finnq were SK Telecom President Park Jung-ho, Hana Financial Group Chairman Kim Jung-tai, KEB Hana Bank President Ham Young-joo, and President Min Ung-jun of Finnq Co., the joint venture between Hana and SK Telecom.Last October Hana Financial Group and SK Telecom established the joint venture with an equity ratio of 51 percent: 49 percent. 

The Finnq is designed to serve as a “financial trainer” to lend a helping hand to those in their 20s and 30s so they can “innovate” their financial lifestyle by analyzing their spending behaviors, departing from a focus on the conventional financial products like savings and loans. The Finnq targets those in their 20s and 30s with lower disposable income and less experiences in systematic spending management. It is an IT-enacted financial platform designed to make money and conduct sound spending behaviors. 

The main features of the Finnq are the “See Me” function designed to take a glance at spending and cash flows; the “Fingo,” an AI-based Chabot, designed to help users manage spending and recommend deposits, installment savings and loan products corresponding to users’ needs; and the “FiT Me” function, designed to attain savings habits and make a good chunk of money.

For instance, the Fingo can analyze card spending by chatting with users and recommending financial products corresponding to suit users’ needs. If big data is accumulated in the future, O2O services and others will be made available to cover the whole of daily life. 

Upon subscription, users can be given basic accounts comprising their telephone numbers and a few figures, which can be linked with accounts of the KEB Hana Bank. 

The Finnq enable users to charge the mobile money “Finnq money” and conduct simple financial transactions like remittances through a directory stored in their smartphones. They can withdraw money from their accounts via KEB Hana Bank’s automated teller machines. 

The Finnq can release customized financial products combining interesting elements or catering to special benefits in cooperation with the KEB Hana Bank. For instance, the “Rameyon Saving” product may carry terms like 5 percent saving off payments whenever users buy coffee. 

If SK Telecom clients subscribe “T-Finnq Installment Savings,” they are entitled to receive a benefit equivalent to a maximum of 4 percent annually. 

If the basic interest stands at an annual rate of 1.7 percent, users who transfer telecom charges from KEB Hana Bank’s accounts can receive preferred treatment with an additional 0.1 percent point. 

If groups subscribe installment savings via links with three SK Telecom lines, a representative can be given Finnq money equivalent to an annual rate of 1.3 percent. 

The Finnq allows the issuance of the credit card “Tubul Card,” in which Finnq money can be deposited according to achievements and users can receive discounts at major cinema theaters, coffee shops, and family restaurants. The Finnq plans to release an “emergency loan” product soon. The platform will launch overseas remittances.

Finally, the Finnq will provide major services, including small remittances, card settlements, and small loans similar to services offered by Kakao Bank and other internet banks. But unlike internet banks, the Finnq offers consumption and asset management services using a “chatbot” as well as financial products corresponding to spending patterns, attracting keen attention from the financial market. 

SK Telecom President Park said in a speech at the event, “Customers are expected to enjoy genuine financial value at ease and conveniently based on the Finnq’s advanced technologies, including AI and big data and innovative user experiences.”

KEB Hana Bank President Ham said, “Now is the time when services are offered to help customers solve problems in their daily life, departing form a focus on such financial products as simple deposits and loans.” 

The Finnq is an innovative financial service that helps those lacking financial information to analyze their spending patterns with ease, he added.