[DigitalToday reporter Ji-young Lee (이지영)] Toss Bank has launched a home mortgage product covering not only apartments but also multi-family and row housing. It supports various funding purposes such as home purchases, refinancing, living stability funds and the return of rent deposit money. It also allows users to check all progress in real time from application to disbursement.

Toss Bank said on Oct. 27 it launched a non-face-to-face home mortgage product for apartments as well as multi-family and row housing nationwide.

The product is designed to broadly support housing-related funding demand, including new home purchase funds, refinancing of existing loans, living stability funds and the return of rent deposit money. Customers can check the loan they need at Toss Bank instead of comparing multiple products depending on the purpose of funds.

It also allows customers to use a "conditional repayment purchase fund loan" non-face-to-face, where borrowers take out a new loan on the condition they repay an existing jeonse loan or home mortgage loan. It supports homeless people seeking to switch from jeonse to home ownership and single-home owners planning to move so they can secure home purchase funds without visiting a branch.

Toss Bank also improved convenience in the loan application process. It introduced an "easy-to-understand progress status" function that allows customers to check progress in real time from application to screening, contract and loan disbursement on the balance payment date.

Conventional home mortgages typically take 2 to 3 weeks to reach final approval and make it difficult to track progress, but the new function lets customers check each step of the procedure. It provides a checklist needed on the balance payment date and automatically assigns a legal scrivener.

It also simplified the document submission process. With customer consent, it automatically links documents from public agencies, and required documents such as purchase contracts can be submitted by taking photos.

Toss Bank also introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-based "home mortgage dedicated 상담봇". The counselling service specialised in home mortgages provides conversational guidance on loan terms, financial terminology and document preparation procedures. It can be used 24 hours a day at night and on weekends regardless of bank business hours.

As of Oct. 27, loan rates range from 4.44 to 9.19 percent a year. The loan limit is up to 1 billion won under household lending rules. In the Seoul metropolitan area and regulated zones, home purchase funds are available up to 600 million won and living stability funds up to 100 million won.

Loan maturity is up to 40 years, and borrowers can choose between equal principal-and-interest amortisation or equal principal amortisation.

Toss Bank plans to sequentially introduce policy mortgage products such as Bogeumjari Loan after the launch of its general home mortgage product. It aims to expand its lineup of housing finance products for ordinary people and end users.

A Toss Bank official said it made complex home mortgage procedures easy to use on mobile. The official said it focused on expanding support to include owners of multi-family and row housing, who can be relatively sidelined in non-face-to-face loans.

"We will continue to expand housing finance products, including policy mortgages, and support customers in securing and maintaining housing," the official added.