Like many Korean nine-to-fivers, Kim, an official at a big name conglomerate, had trouble sparing time in his day to visit banks for a loan. He was afraid to give the wrong impression to his boss by leaving his desk unattended, but taking a whole day off for a banking service did not make sense either.

After days of delay, Kim signed up for the “business consultant service” on Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s website to have the bank visit him instead. The next day, Kim and SC Bank consultants, equipped with tablet PCs, met at Kim’s office for a loan consultation, and the borrowing procedure was completed. 

Launched late last year, the so-called visiting bank service has been recognized as one of the most innovative and localized banking services in Korea. Based on the newest financial technology, the service operates on a tablet PC-based mobility platform.

As of late March, SC Bank has processed about 30,000 transactions through the tech-savvy service. The visiting bank service offers almost all services that are offered at offline banks, such as saving and installment deposits, loans and card signups.

The service also increases banking accessibility to the elderly and physically impaired. Park, now a client of SC Bank’s visiting bank service, had to navigate too many stairs on his way to the bank. After being informed of the service, he called 1566-1166 to sign up for the service. The next day he met with the consultants at his work, who helped him open new bank accounts and sign up for a new check card and a loan plan.

“The visiting banking service is about to become one of our core banking channels,” an SC Bank Korea official said.

By Chung Joo-won  (joowonc@heraldcorp.com)