S. Korea’s Shinhan Bank dives into food delivery business

Shinhan Bank is one of the largest banks in South Korea, and historically, it is also the first bank in the country. In the latest report, the financial institution has started a new business by venturing into food delivery.

According to Korea Joongang Daily, Shinhan Bank is the very first local bank to offer such kind of service. It was mentioned that under the current laws in S. Korea, financial companies are not allowed to tender food delivery since this is totally not related to finance.

But despite this, Shinhan Bank was able to get approval to put the service on trial. It was given permission to test the business for a limited time. The permit was handed down by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) last year under the regulatory sandbox program.

The bank's spokesman said that the time-bound permit is good for up to four years. The representative also noted that they can still extend the period if there are changes in regulations related to the case.

For the food delivery service, Shinhan Bank will be providing the app as well as support financial and technological framework to link clients to restaurants and other eating establishments. It was clarified that the bank will not be preparing food or hiring riders to bring food orders to customers.

Shinhan Bank's app for its food delivery business has been named "Ttaenggyeoyo," which translates to mean "to pull," but in general circumstances, it also means "craving." Business operators can be listed on the bank's food delivery platform and they will not be charged for ads or listing.

On the other hand, the bank can earn by collecting two percent on every order. This charge is said to be very low in this line of business. Shinhan Bank's Ttaenggyeoyo app can be downloaded via Google Play and is currently for Android users only.

Moreover, since it is still in the trial stage, the service is only available in six locations in Seoul and they are Mapo, Gangnam, Gwangjin, Songpa, Gwanak, and Seocho districts. Later, the app will also be downloadable to iOS users and the bank will add more districts too.

"We focused on realizing win-win growth on the delivery platform by providing beneficial benefits to all platform participants rather than profit from the open business," NewsDirectory3 quoted an official from Shinhan Bank as saying in a statement. "We will continue to strive to provide a warm and comfortable service to everyone on non-financial delivery platform Daenggyeolyo, in line with finance."