IBK Industrial Bank of Korea said on Tuesday it will improve its "instant card sales deposit service" to help small merchants boost liquidity and will officially operate the revamped service from March 3.

The instant card sales deposit service immediately deposits card payment proceeds to card merchants at no extra cost, instead of taking 2 to 5 days after a card payment.

The key improvement is greater ease of use. The bank, working with the Financial Services Commission and card companies, scrapped the requirement to submit a seal certificate and simplified the application process. Sole proprietors can now apply immediately at branches or through non-face-to-face channels with an ID card and a mobile phone in their own name.

The bank also expanded choices in how deposits are made, widening small merchants' options for managing funds. It will keep the existing real-time deposit method, in which deposits are made within an average of 10 seconds after card payment, and newly introduce a batch deposit service that deposits the day's card sales in a lump sum at 10:30 p.m. each day.

A bank official said, "Simplifying paperwork is an industry-wide effort to save small merchants time and costs," adding, "We will continue to do our best so small merchants can receive needed funds faster and more easily, helping invigorate the livelihoods economy."