Shinhan Bank has launched a new digital banking system that allows users to authenticate themselves without visiting a bank window.

The bank’s move reflects the ever-intensifying competition in the mobile banking sector, as well as the entry of Internet-only banks next year.

The bank presented Wednesday “Sunny Bank,” a mobile platform that allows users to open an account through mobile authentication, and Digital Kiosk, an unmanned digital bank window with biometric authentication function ― identifying the visitor through vein recognition.

“A personal authentication system that does not require a face-to-face interaction is a significant step in financial reform,” said the Financial Services Commission chairman Yim Jong-yong.

At the presentation, Yim opened an account through the Sunny Bank system and joined Shinhan’s e-financial service at Digital Kiosk by using the vein recognition function.

“What marks our system is that it may authenticate the user even without an identification card or other documents,” said the bank’s president Cho Yong-byeong.

“Users can easily make financial transactions after working hours, and the bank can save operating costs and improve the quality of the services.”

For instance, those who have lost their debit card over the weekend or have to increase their transaction amount limit urgently may visit a nearby Digital Kiosk instead of waiting until Monday for bank windows to open, according to officials.

The bank currently operates 24 Digital Kiosks in the metropolitan area and is planning to expand the number and the geographic range. The service is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and from noon to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.


By Bae Hyun-jung
(tellme@heraldcorp.com)