Shinhan Bank to completely scrap mobile, online balance transfer fees

Beginning on New Year's day, Shinhan Bank started waiving all balance transfer fees to other bank accounts and automated transfer fees for its mobile banking app "New SOL" and Internet banking. Shinhan is South Korea's first commercial bank not to charge a non-contact balance transfer fee.

Until now, Shinhan Bank users have paid a fee of 500 won ($0.4) per transaction when sending money to other banks through mobile and online, and 300 won when using automated transfers. Only users who met certain criteria, such as those exceeding transaction volumes at a certain level, were exempted from fees.

This fee waiver is the first project in which Shinhan Bank CEO Han Yong-gu, who was inaugurated on Dec. 30 last year, inherited and further developed the "customer-centered" vision of Shinhan Financial Group Chairman-nominee Jin Ok-dong, former CEO.

Mr. Han plans to focus on the support for a vulnerable borrowers project this year. Since July last year, Shinhan Bank has started to relieve the interest burden of some of its borrowers by lowering the interest rate on home mortgage loans that exceeded 5% per year to 5% and deferring the interest rates of customers whose home mortgage rates have risen by more than 0.5% point from the end of 2021.

"Customer-centered management is the grand proposition for Shinhan to become a first-class banking corporation. We are making an in-depth review of how our bank will fulfill our social responsibility," said CEO Han.

Write to Sang-Yong Park at yourpencil@hankyung.com