Dongkuk Steel partners with Hana Bank, Hana Card to integrate steel purchasing and financing on Steelshop platform

Dongkuk Steel is teaming up with Hana Bank and Hana Card to build an integrated payment system that handles everything from steel purchases to loan execution and settlement in a single process. The initiative targets more than 3,000 member companies on Steelshop, Dongkuk's online steel sales platform, with the aim of streamlining procurement and easing financing costs through preferential interest rates.

Dongkuk Steel announced Thursday that it signed a supply chain finance MOU with Hana Bank and Hana Card on Wednesday at Hana Bank's headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul. The signing was attended by Kwak Jin-su, Dongkuk Steel's sales director, Seo Yu-seok, deputy head of Hana Bank's corporate group, and Lee Wan-geun, executive vice president of Hana Card's sales group.

At the heart of the agreement is the integration of Dongkuk's online steel sales platform with financial services. The three companies plan to develop a co-branded debit card exclusively for Steelshop members and build a "one-transaction" payment system linked to Hana Bank's business-to-business credit line.

Once the new system is in place, companies purchasing steel will be able to complete everything from loan execution to payment settlement simply by clicking a button on Steelshop. Previously, buyers had to submit separate documents or use internet banking to arrange purchase financing. The new system will allow them to handle all financial transactions within a single platform.

The three partners also plan to reduce financing costs for purchasing companies by offering special preferential interest rates to Steelshop members, lowering the burden of securing funds for steel procurement.

The steel industry is particularly susceptible to shifts in market conditions such as construction activity and steel prices, which can strain the cash flow of buying companies. The new financial service is expected to help smaller purchasing firms manage liquidity, as they tend to have less financial flexibility.

Dongkuk Steel aims to launch the service by the end of this year after completing system development and stabilization work with Hana Bank and Hana Card.

"We have built a payment infrastructure that allows more than 3,000 Steelshop member companies to procure steel smoothly with less financial burden," a Dongkuk Steel Steelshop official said. "We will continue to identify practical support measures that foster the shared growth of the steel ecosystem."

"This is a supply chain finance model that combines the capabilities of a B2B e-commerce platform with those of a bank and a card company to deliver the best possible payment convenience for purchasing firms," a Hana Bank official said. "We will continue to provide tailored financial solutions that actively reflect the needs of B2B platform members and practice mutual-growth finance with small and medium-sized enterprises."

A Hana Card official said the partnership would allow Steelshop members to make payments "as quickly and securely as possible" through its debit card network, which is specialized for the B2B payment market. "We will spare no effort in supporting the successful rollout of the one-transaction payment system," the official said.