Free Bank Services to be Available at Postal Offices from November

Korea Post President Sohn Seung-hyun and presidents of four banks attend a ceremony to sign MOUs on having banks’ services made available at postal offices. (Photos: Korea Post)

Starting November, customers with KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori and Hana banks will be allowed to utilize deposits, withdrawals and ATM services at 1,500 postal offices across the nation.

Korea Post, under the umbrella of the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT), said on June 16 that it signed MOUs on financial services at postal offices with each of the four banks.

The deal is designed to raise the convenience of the elderly, who are vulnerable to the so-called digital divide, grappling with problems caused by the closing of physical bank branches.

Since customers with eight banks - including the existing tie-up banks: IBK, KDB, City and Jeonbuk Bank – will be allowed to utilize postal services at bank windows free of charge, nationwide off-line access to financial networks is predicted to raise dramatically.

Korea Post and banks had agreed to expand the scope of service areas to all parts of the nation following several meetings. Both sides had cooperated to offer convenient financial services when they agreed to distribute integrated readers, applicable to bankbooks, to postal offices across the nation by the end of October.

Korea Post President Sohn Seung-hyun said, “With signing of the MOU, postal offices will become a full-fledged financial service hub institution to care for the elderly, who generally suffer when bank branches are closed.”

Korea Post will make efforts to explore services to have synergetic effects through collaboration with the government and civilian institutions, he added.

Vice Chairman Kim So-young of the Financial Services Commission (FSC) presided over a ceremony to sign an MOU, in which Korea Post is allowed to expand services commissioned by banks at the Korea Federation of Banks.

Among those on hand at the event were FSC Vice Chairman Kim, Korea Post President Sohn, KB Kookmin Bank President Lee Jae-keun, Shinhan Bank President Jin Ok-dong, Hana Bank President Park Sung-ho, and Woori Bank President Lee Won-duk.

The number of bank branches has declined quickly in the wake of the acceleration of digital transformation of the financial industry, a trend that was boosted by the COVID pandemic.

Figures, released by FSC showed that the total number of bank branches dropped to 6,094 at the end of last year, a decline of 311 from 6,405 in the previous year.

Korea Post has been implementing a project to realize self-driving, unmanned acceptance and delivery of postal matters.

Korea Post to Advance Commercialization of Self-Driving, Unmanned Postal Service

Korea Post, under the umbrella of the MSIT, held an event to demonstrate an actual self-driving, unmanned postal service. It is designed to improve working conditions of postal deliverymen and delivery laborers.

The event took place at Seoul National University on May 19.

Korea Post had invested 16 billion won for three years on the technology from April 2020 to realize self-driving, unmanned acceptance and delivery of postal matters.

The service uses advanced ICT technologies such as 5G telecom, big data and AI.

Korea Post has implemented a project to develop core technologies and launch a pilot service with the goal of commercialization, slated for next year.