Toss Bank said on March 10 it will participate with Seoul and the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation in the third round of the Seoul 'reassurance account' programme and expand guarantee-backed credit line loan support for self-employed business owners in the Seoul area. The programme will take effect on March 19.

The third round is being promoted as part of Seoul's "Small Business Support Project" and involves a total of 8 banks, including Toss Bank. The programme size is 200 billion won.

Toss Bank's "Seoul Reassurance Minus Account" is a credit line loan (overdraft) product provided based on a credit guarantee certificate from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation. The loan limit is up to 10 million won, and the guarantee ratio is applied at 90 percent. The annual guarantee fee rate is 1.0 percent.

The loan term is a 1-year bullet repayment structure and can be extended up to 5 years. Toss Bank provides new subscribers with an annual 1 percent cashback on the amount of the credit line used during the first 6 months after disbursement, up to 50,000 won.

Eligible applicants are self-employed business owners whose business location is in Seoul and who can obtain a credit guarantee certificate from the Seoul Credit Guarantee Foundation. They must meet requirements including more than 1 year since opening, a NICE credit score of at least 600 for the representative, and either total sales of at least 2,000,000 won over the past 3 months or reported sales of at least 10 million won over the past year. Some screening requirements are eased for young business owners (age 39 or under, with at least 3 years in business).

A Toss Bank official said, "We consider it meaningful to participate in this third round of the Seoul 'reassurance account' programme being promoted as part of Seoul's Small Business Support Project." The official added, "Through guarantee-based financial support and Toss Bank's cashback benefit, we will help small business owners in Seoul secure the funds they need with less burden."