Opening a Korean Bank Account

With few exceptions opening a bank account is going to require visiting a branch.  You will need your passport or  Alien Registration Card (ARC) but if you open an account with your passport, you will have problems setting up direct debits later as the ID numbers won't match.  I will assume you have your ARC from this point as opening an account with a passport can require employment letters, housing contracts and a lot of bother.

Now some bank tellers will quote a rule stating that you cannot have an ATM Card or Internet Banking for the first 3 months you have an account.  There is no rule stating this but the Korean Federation of Banks issued a guideline in 2007 for people that didn't appear to have jobs or a place to live.  If a bank teller tells you this you have 2 options:

1. Call the English help line for the bank and getting them to talk to the teller;
2. Walk out and go to the next bank or branch and send me the details of the bank, branch and teller name (try and get their card).

When you open a bank account you need to apply separately for telephone banking, Internet Banking, ATM or Check Card and designate the bank as your sole bank for international transactions (I will be looking at this later in the month).  Now at this point some bank tellers may tell you that you can't have a Check Card because you are foreign, there is no rule and I know for a fact that SC Firstbank, KEB, and Shinhan Bank definitely have no policy that prevents international Check Cards from being issued to foreigners.  Some Check Cards will offer discounts depending on where you spend your money, I prefer a cash back card myself.  Also in the past your card spend provided you a tax deduction on your annual return, but the extension of this benefit is currently being debated by the National Assembly.  You may be asked to pay for a card, but I would leave at that point the very first bank account I opened in Korea charged me w3,000 for an ATM card, but I have never been charged for one since.  

Almost all Internet Banking in Korea requires a PC with MS Internet Explorer and digital certificates are used to identify the account holder with the addition of a secret number card or an OTP device.  OTP devices are more secure, but you do pay for them.  Most large banks provide Internet Banking in English some banks will allow you to send money through an ATM or Internet Banking to your home country and I highly recommend this option as it will save you a lot of time in the bank branch and prevent the teller trying to stamp your passport, which I will also discuss later.

If at any stage the teller tells you "You can't do this, you are foreign", it is probably best to leave and try another teller or just go to another bank.

In Korea bank deposits are insured to w50,000,000 by the KDIC.

Finally these are the English Call Centre Numbers for Korean banks, these numbers, and menu selections are subject to change:

HSBC Direct                                                             1544-3311 and press 9
HSBC                                                                       1588-1770 and press 9
SC Firstbank                                                             1577-7744
Woori Bank                                                               1588-5000 or 1599-5000 and press 7
Shinhan Bank                                                             1577-8380
Hana Bank                                                                 1599-1111 then press 8,1
KEB                                                                          1544-3000
Citibank                                                                     02-3704-7100
KB                                                                             1588-9999 then press 9,0,1
IBK                                                                            1566-2566 then press 5,7,1
National Federation of Fishing Cooperatives Bank       02-2240-3322
NH Bank                                                                   1588-2100 then press 730 for an interpreter

Remember to write to koreanbankblog@gmail.com should you have any stories.