South Korean small business loan initiatives

South Korean financial institutions have introduced new credit and loan products aimed at supporting small business owners.

In August, Shinhan Bank launched a specialized credit loan product for merchants using its ‘Ddenggyeo’ delivery application. The bank utilizes approximately 1,700 data points, including order history and sales from the platform, to enhance credit evaluations. These loans offer up to 100 million KRW with terms of one to three years, utilizing Banking-as-a-Service technology for automatic repayments from settlement funds.

Following this, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank partnered with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation to launch the ‘Seoul Ansim Account No. 4’ project. This initiative provides 300 billion won in non-face-to-face loans to individual business owners in Seoul who have operated for at least one year. These loans are provided in a negative account format with a maximum limit of 20 million won and include support for guarantee fees to reduce the financial burden on applicants.