Crypto

Korea Fintech Industry Association discusses digital finance cooperation with Bank of England

The Korea Fintech Industry Association said it held talks with officials from the Bank of England on possible cooperation in digital assets and cross-border payments. Korean fintech companies joined the meeting to share business progress on stablecoin-based trade settlement, asset tokenisation and AI agent payments. Participants agreed institutional safeguards were needed to protect consumers and investors and to ensure payment system stability.

Finance

Banks\' digital shift still leaves customer waits and staff burden unchanged

South Korea\'s banking sector is accelerating digital transformation and efficiency drives, but customers and frontline staff still feel the strain, industry sources say. As mobile banking expands, branches, ATMs and headcount are shrinking, concentrating complex tasks at remaining outlets. Customers report difficulty reaching branches by phone and long waits for consultations. From April next year, branch opening time is set to move to 9:30 a.m., cutting daily counter hours by 30 minutes.