South Korea\'s fintech sector is expanding payment infrastructure while strengthening security and user protection. The Financial Supervisory Service and the Korea Fintech Industry Association launched a consultative body with major payment gateway firms to curb suspicious transactions. The Bank of Korea raised its policy rate to 2.75 percent, the first hike in 3.5 years, prompting tighter household lending management. Authorities also plan higher deposits and trading units for single-stock leveraged ETFs.

Shinhan Bank has begun full operations of its Shinhansol Cluster Jeonnam-Gwangju, a regional financial platform aimed at strengthening support for strategic industries in the Jeonnam-Gwangju area. The bank said it held an opening ceremony on July 15 and built a public-private cooperation system linking regional industrial policy with on-the-ground corporate financing demand. The cluster will focus on AI, semiconductors, future mobility and energy, and provide integrated support from diagnostics to execution.