Kakao Bank launches first account for foreign residents, with 5-minute sign-up via chatbot

Kakao Bank is launching a mobile banking service tailored for foreign residents in South Korea, allowing them to open an account in about five minutes without visiting a branch and send money to roughly 200 countries through the app.

The bank unveiled the service Monday at Novotel Ambassador in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, at a press event called a "foreigner service press talk," introducing the foreign resident account, a Friends debit card, overseas remittance, multilingual customer support, security features and lifestyle conveniences.

The offering is designed to let foreign customers open an account, waive transfer and ATM fees, earn cashback on their debit card, and access AI and lifestyle benefits — all without visiting a branch.

The foreign resident account is open to non-Korean nationals aged 19 and older from more than 200 countries, including China and Vietnam. The entire account-opening process runs through a chatbot, and customers who do not require additional screening can complete sign-up in about five minutes.

Required documents — such as proof of employment, pay stubs and certificates of residency — can be submitted directly through the app. A selfie verification system designed for foreign users, combined with public MyData, reduces the information customers need to enter and verify manually, including name, nationality, address and occupation. When overseas tax-obligation checks or additional screening are needed, customers can track progress within the app.

Until now, foreign customers opening a bank account in Korea have had to submit documents or visit a branch in person for know-your-customer checks and overseas tax-obligation verification. Even when non-face-to-face services were available, the process often could not be completed entirely within an app, and limited foreign-language support created further barriers.

Kakao Bank designed the service with those pain points in mind, building the sign-up flow, language options and authentication environment around the needs of foreign users. The bank made it possible to handle everything from account opening to product use and customer inquiries on a mobile device, and added features for issuing certificates needed for visa renewals and checking balances in familiar currencies.

Balance certificates and transaction statements needed for visa renewals and other purposes are available through a dedicated document-issuance menu. The account screen displays the won balance alongside real-time conversions in nine currencies.

Transfer and ATM deposit and withdrawal fees are waived with no conditions. Foreign customers can also open a group account or sign up for Safe Box, Kakao Bank's parking account. Each customer may hold up to two foreign resident accounts.

Card and overseas remittance services are also available. Foreign customers will initially be issued a domestic-use Friends debit card offering the same cashback benefits as those available to Korean customers. A debit card that supports overseas payments is planned for release later this year.

Foreign customers can also apply for the Kakao Bank Chakbut Shinhan Card, a private-label credit card developed in partnership with Shinhan Card that launched in August. Sole proprietors can apply for a business-owner affiliated credit card, and a service that lets customers compare benefits across multiple cards before applying is also available.

Outbound overseas remittance is offered in partnership with Hanpass, covering roughly 200 countries and more than 50 currencies. Remittance fees to major destinations including the United States and China are free. Customers can sign up for Hanpass and send money without leaving the Kakao Bank app. For inbound remittances handled directly by Kakao Bank, receiving fees are waived in full with no conditions.

Multilingual support for foreign customers has also been strengthened. AI-powered translation is applied across all screens — including product sign-up and customer inquiry channels — with support for English, Chinese and Vietnamese. One-on-one English consultations are available, and the bank plans to expand language support to seven languages next year.

The security framework incorporates a foreign resident stay-period management process, a dedicated facial recognition system and an abnormal transaction detection function. AI-based smishing text detection and identity theft prevention services are also provided.

Foreign customers can use the search and transfer functions within Kakao Bank AI and participate in cash-reward programs in the benefits tab — such as step-counting challenges and surveys. Through the National Secretary service, they can also check notifications for fines, penalties and other official notices.

Kakao Bank plans to add savings and time-deposit products, open banking and a loan-comparison service next year. Over the longer term, the bank intends to extend its reach to foreign visitors to Korea and overseas Koreans, and to expand services across deposits, lending and payment settlement.

"We hope Kakao Bank becomes a new standard for financial services in Korea for long-term foreign residents who are here to study or make a living," said Bae Jeong-ho, head of Kakao Bank's foreign customer camp. "We will consistently expand our product portfolio and become the financial platform that foreign residents turn to most."