Why banking in Korea is better than your home country.

In Korea the mantra is quick, quick.  This applies to everything, including banking.

I once had cause to email a bank V.P. on a Monday after being refused a checkcard, and by 2pm Wednesday the bank's policy had changed.  In another instance, an acquaintance had a problem with a bank regarding getting an ATM card, 2 days later the bank clarified the policy.  Korean banks are rising to the challenge of becoming more sensitive to the needs of international customers and will be successful to put Korea onto the global financial map.

Another good thing in Korea is that banks here are yet to discover the joys of fee revenue.  If you are Australian, you are well aware of banks gouging excessive fees for diminishing services. In Korea the only fees that affect most international customers are, ATM withdrawal fees, and transfer fees.  There are even accounts that waive these fees.  If you don't have sufficient funds for a direct debit, there is no fee charged to you.  If you visit a branch there is no fee to you.  If you are late paying a credit card there is no fee to you, other than interest.  I almost believe that Koreans wouldn't pay extra fees and introducing them would be huge a first mover disadvantage.  Korean banks are in fact innovating to introduce new fees.  If you want an SMS every time there is a transaction on your account pay w1,000 per month seems very reasonable.  If Korean banks can lift their fee revenue by innovation, they will be serving their customers and earning the extra income.

I was talking to a bank in Seoul once about a project that unfortunately didn't get off the ground, and I mentioned that many international company expats were paid offshore, later I saw that bank had developed a local account for these people that could be linked to the offshore account, I am sure it was a coincidence, but it shows the innovation of Korean banks.

I know I have an easier time banking in Korea than expats in many other countries and better than in my home country and if this customer service commitment and innovation could reach the branch level, Korea could be number 1 in the world for retail banking.