South Korea’s top financial regulator said Monday that it will allow customers to open bank accounts without physically visiting brick-and-mortar offices from later this year as part of efforts to ease regulations on the financial industry and boost financial technology, or fintech.

Under the current financial laws, local financial institutions must identify the name of an individual who opens a bank account by checking their identification cards and signatures in person.

The Financial Services Commission said starting from December, customers do not have to visit bank offices and can open their new bank accounts by sending scanned identification cards, having online interviews or allowing the banks to cross-check their different accounts opened in other financial institutions.

Financial companies should use other means at the same time to check their customers’ identity through text messages or telephone calls, the regulator added.

The FSC said it will encourage banks to establish a computation system that makes the indirect identification process possible until August and have trial tests in September. (Yonhap)