[DigitalToday reporter Ji-young Lee] South Korea's financial sector is moving to capture the Lunar New Year holiday boost. It is responding to customer demand during the holiday period, from supporting new banknote exchanges through mobile branches at highway rest stops to holiday events and refunds of online merchant fees.

Major commercial banks, as in previous years, will operate mobile branches for customers. KB Kookmin Bank will open a mobile branch at Giheung Rest Area on the southbound Gyeongbu Expressway on Feb. 13 and 14 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to support new banknote exchanges.

Shinhan Bank will also run its mobile branch, "Bankbird", over the same period at Hwaseong Rest Area on the southbound Seohaean Expressway. At the site, customers can use automated teller machines to withdraw new banknotes, transfer funds and update passbooks, and can also exchange cash into new banknotes.

Hana Bank will operate a mobile branch at Yangjae Manam Plaza Rest Area on the southbound side from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will also operate currency exchange counters at Incheon International Airport Terminals 1 and 2 from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. year-round to meet demand from overseas travellers.

Woori Bank will operate a mobile branch at Manghyang Rest Area on the southbound Gyeongbu Expressway on Feb. 13 and 14. It will also run a financial fraud prevention campaign. It plans to play videos on a large LED monitor explaining main tactics and prevention methods for voice phishing and smishing, so holiday travellers can naturally access fraud-prevention information while they stay at the rest stop.

NH Nonghyup Bank will operate a mobile branch at Hanam Dream Rest Area on the Jungbu Expressway, and IBK Industrial Bank of Korea will run one at Deokpyeong Rest Area toward Incheon, to meet holiday funding demand.

iM Bank will also operate mobile branches at two locations, Dongmyeong Rest Area toward Chuncheon and the plaza at Dongdaegu Station, where customers can exchange new banknotes and use ATMs. By placing mobile branches at highway rest stops and key transport hubs, it will provide financial services including new banknote exchanges that see strong holiday demand.

◆A wide range of events also target the holiday boost

Holiday-focused events are also drawing attention. KB Kookmin Bank is running a Lunar New Year event for the "Monimo KB Daily Interest Account", developed in collaboration with Samsung Financial Networks' integrated platform Monimo, through Feb. 22. Customers who complete missions such as opening a new account, linking an automatic transfer and participating in consecutive interest-receipt tasks will receive a "New Year's gift money envelope".

Winning amounts are assigned at random, and participants can receive up to 2.6 million won in Monimo money. The account offers an interest rate of up to 4.0 percent a year on daily balances of up to 2 million won.

The fintech sector has also joined the holiday event lineup. Pink, Hana Financial Group's lifestyle finance platform, has prepared a "holiday gifts and New Year's gift money" giveaway. It offers "New Year's gift money" benefits, a cash-like reward, through a draw. Customers who meet conditions can win 1 million won in Pink Money as the first prize for 1 person, or 2,026 won in Pink Money commemorating 2026 as the second prize for 499 people, through a draw.

Naver Pay is also offering point accumulation benefits through its "Lucky Pouch Point Pang" promotion and an event for its teen-only "Money Card Y". It is targeting demand for spending New Year's gift money by offering instant point accumulation for mobile payments, convenience store top-ups and app store payments.

Kakao Pay has planned a "Surviving Seollal" promotion that playfully addresses holiday hardships. "Solve the survival quiz" is participatory content that frames relatable moments such as holiday nagging or sudden spending as "crisis situations". Users who complete the Seollal quiz to the end will receive 30 Kakao Pay points immediately.

It runs by letting users collect stamps while directly experiencing related services. Those who collect 4 stamps will enter a draw in which 2,000 people will receive 3,000 Kakao Pay points, and those who collect all 6 will enter a draw in which a total of 10 people will receive 1 million Kakao Pay points.

Viva Republica-run Toss will also fully support Toss Pay payment fees for online small merchants from Feb. 16 to 22. It will be applied automatically without a separate application, and fees incurred during the period will be refunded later. A Toss official said, "We focused on support that small merchants can feel during the Lunar New Year holiday period."

The financial sector around Seollal is using channels ranging from new banknote exchanges on the homebound travel route to New Year's gift money events to boost customer convenience while expanding customer touchpoints.

A financial industry official said, "Since holidays are a time when financial demand concentrates over a short period, we are working to strengthen customer convenience," adding, "The financial sector's strategy of combining on-site offline support and digital benefits will continue going forward."