KakaoBank: Korean online bank open to foreign residents since October 2026

KakaoBank Corp. is an online-only Korean bank belonging to the Kakao group. In a press release dated 27 July 2017, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced that "KakaoBank, Korea's second online-only bank" had officially opened its services, following preparations begun after the preliminary approval granted at the end of 2015. Banks of this type fall under the Korean banking regime, supervised by the FSC and the Financial Supervisory Service: we classify it among licensed banks.

The institution's entry in a Korean register was not consulted, and the corporate name comes from secondary sources. The official website used (kakaobank.com) is the one these sources cite; it could not be opened from our research environment.

On 12 October 2026, KakaoBank opened more than fifty services to foreign residents, in the same app as the one used by Korean customers. Eligible applicants are foreign residents aged at least figure being updated who hold a valid resident ID and a mobile phone registered in their own name; the account is opened through a conversational assistant in a few minutes, with identity, nationality and address data verified via public data services.

According to the Korean business press, the simplified opening applies to nationals of about two hundred countries and can be completed in a few minutes when no further review is needed. The bank states that it gradually blocks transactions when the authorised stay expires, and requests a selfie verification in the event of a suspicious transaction. Its own loans are not yet offered to foreigners.

The list of accepted residence permits and the final fate of the account after leaving Korea are not specified; no official KakaoBank page was read on these points.

The offer for foreigners includes current accounts, group accounts, an interest-bearing temporary deposit account, a debit card with the same benefits as for Korean customers, international transfers via the partner Hanpass, balance certificates useful for renewing a visa, balances displayed in several currencies and support translated into English, Chinese and Vietnamese. Card payments abroad were announced for early December 2026.

Transfer and exchange fees are not reproduced here: the press only mentions that some fees are waived.

In Korea, the statutory deposit protection limit was raised to up to ₩100,000,000¹ per depositor per institution from 1 September 2025, according to the Financial Services Commission.

KakaoBank's membership of the KDIC system was not read in a primary source.

The limit applies per depositor and per institution: funds spread across several Korean banks each benefit from a separate limit. Investment products are not covered by deposit protection.

• The validity and duration of the residence permit: when it expires, transactions are gradually blocked.
• The mobile phone registered in your own name, a condition that is often a stumbling block for a newcomer.
• The actual availability of card payments abroad, announced for late 2026.
• The reporting obligations linked to your tax residence: a French tax resident must declare every year the accounts opened, held, used or closed outside France, including those of online banks and payment wallets; other countries impose comparable obligations.