Toss Bank said on Wednesday it has launched a "professional self-employed loan" for self-employed people running businesses based on professional licences and qualifications. Nine groups of self-employed professionals can use the product, including doctors, dentists, practitioners of traditional Korean medicine, pharmacists, veterinarians, lawyers, patent attorneys, certified public accountants and tax accountants.

Toss Bank introduced a feature that automatically verifies licence and qualification information in a non-face-to-face process. It links National Tax Service industry codes with qualification information by occupation to automatically validate professional status. It cut the documents required for loan applications and simplified screening. Customers can complete the entire process, from application to disbursement, online without visiting a branch, and borrow on credit without separate collateral.

For start-ups or for operating businesses that require loans above a certain amount, the bank applies a procedure to verify business operations based on GPS using on-site photos customers take at their workplaces. If a loan above a certain amount is needed, it will check the details of how funds are used through a non-face-to-face process. It set up a management system to ensure funds are disbursed in line with the loan purpose even in a non-face-to-face environment.

Toss Bank said it designed the product to support both start-up and operating funds, reflecting the characteristics of businesses based on professional practice. If less than 3 months have passed since business registration, customers can apply as start-up funding, and if 3 months or more have passed, they can apply as operating funds. As a business loan for start-up and operating purposes, it is excluded from debt service ratio (DSR) regulation.

The loan limit is up to 500 million won. The interest rate, as of Feb. 4, ranges from 3.99 percent to 7.57 percent per year, and the repayment method is bullet repayment in 1 year, extendable up to 10 years, with no early repayment fee.

Toss Bank said the launch expands its existing "boss loan" line-up into professional fields.

A Toss Bank official said, "We launched the product so professional business owners can easily secure the funds they need during start-up and operations," adding, "We plan to gradually expand eligible occupations and limits while watching market response."