Hana Bank launched a remittance service designed to improve the speed and transparency of processing overseas transfers to the United States. Customers can check fees and the amount the recipient will receive before sending money, and track the transfer status in real time after remittance.

Hana Bank said on July 13 it launched the Fast-Fit remittance service to improve convenience for overseas remittance customers.

The service addresses issues in the overseas remittance process including long deposit times, difficulty confirming the final amount received and inconvenience in checking transfer status. Customers can confirm fees and the amount the recipient will receive in advance, and check the status in real time after sending.

The service is a cross-border payment and settlement service that uses the SWIFT remittance network's improved payment method, the Retail Payments Scheme. In June, major global banks joined and it was first implemented at 26 banks in 10 countries.

Hana Bank joined the service among South Korean banks and introduced the U.S. remittance service. It plans to expand the eligible countries to Australia and Canada.

It also lowered fee burdens. For remittances to the United States, customers can send money regardless of amount by paying a 10,000 won overseas bank fee and a 5,000 won cable charge.

The service can be used non-face-to-face on Hana Bank's mobile app Hana 1Q and the foreigner-focused mobile app Hana EZ. Hana EZ supports 16 languages.

The remittance service is available to both individual customers and foreign customers living in South Korea. Hana Bank plans to expand the scope beyond outbound remittances to include inbound remittances received from overseas to South Korea.

An official at Hana Bank's foreign exchange business support department said the service improves the speed and transparency of overseas remittances and allows customers to more clearly confirm the actual costs they bear and the final amount received. The official said Hana Bank would continue to expand customer-focused differentiated foreign exchange services as a specialist foreign exchange bank.