KakaoBank, South Korea’s largest neobank and a subsidiary of internet powerhouse Kakao, is exploring forming cooperation with the country’s digital currency exchanges.
KakaoBank CEO Yun Ho-young acknowledged the proposal at the company’s quarterly business performance conference, according to a local newspaper. According to Yun, the internet first bank is now looking at collaborating with local digital currency exchange.
Because cryptocurrency is seen as a key asset among clients, KakaoBank is looking at how it can give virtual assets in services or as a company in a positive perspective.
The bank would use the idea to help its digital exchange partners conform to South Korea’s digital currency legislation. The nation requires digital currency exchanges to have banking partners that can offer users real-name verification services.
According to rumors, the neobank had already agreed to become Coinone’s banking partner before the meeting. However, Yun did not confirm or refute the reports in his remarks.
Coinone has an agreement with NongHyup (NH) Bank for financial services. The agreement, however, is a rolling six-month renewable contract, and the supposition was predicated on the potential that KakaoBank would take over once it expired.
During the performance conference, KakaoBank also announced its highest-ever operating income. The bank’s operating income in Q1 increased by 63.8 percent year over year to KRW 88.4 billion (US$70.14 million).
The success of KakaoBank’s primary local competitor KBank may have influenced its decision to collaborate with digital currency exchanges. Last year, the subsidiary neobank partnered with Upbit, the largest digital currency exchange in South Korea by trading volume.
The agreement helped the bank achieve its greatest and first yearly surplus ever. Because of its success after the digital currency exchange arrangement, KBank is now exploring going public in 2022.
In other headlines, authorities continue to pursue digital currency enterprises and tech companies in South Korea. According to Bloomberg, Kakao, the parent firm of KakaoBank, had its stock drop when regulatory agencies went after its creator earlier this year.
Nevertheless, the business is hopeful that the newly elected administration will regulate the industry more legally. President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has already said that any digital currency taxes would be suspended until consumer protection controls are implemented.
