KB Kookmin Bank is joining hands with iQuest to expand embedded finance services for small and medium-sized companies.

KB Kookmin Bank said on April 22 it signed an agreement with iQuest on April 21 to expand financial services linked to SME ERP systems and broaden inclusive finance.

Attendees at the signing ceremony included iQuest CEO Park Won-il (박원일) and Kim Hyun-wook (김현욱), deputy head of KB Kookmin Bank's Corporate Customer Group, as well as other officials.

The agreement aims to link ERP systems used by SMEs with banking services to improve operational efficiency and expand data-driven financial support. The two sides plan to cooperate on building a B2B embedded finance model that integrates payments, cash management and financial products, beyond a simple open API level.

Specifically, services will expand in stages to include account inquiries and automated collection of transaction histories within ERP systems, links to cash management functions such as payroll, bulk transfers and CMS, and recommendations of financial products based on electronic tax invoices and sales data.

The two also plan to broaden the scope of financial services for SMEs and small business owners that previously had low access to finance by upgrading credit assessments using ERP-based alternative data. This is expected to ease blind spots in finance and contribute to expanding inclusive finance.

A KB Kookmin Bank official said the project was an example of collaboration combining the bank's financial capabilities with an ERP company's data capabilities, adding that it will upgrade services to boost the competitiveness of SMEs through digital-based financial services.