Korea’s Internet Banks Gear Up for Check Cards for Kids as Young as 7

Competition among South Korea’s internet-only banks and fintech firms is intensifying as the minimum age for getting a check card is set to drop, effectively opening the market to children in the so-called Alpha generation, born in 2010 or later.

The Financial Services Commission is pushing a 시행령 revision in May to improve youth access to financial services by lowering the eligible age for check card use to 7 and older, from 12, the financial industry said Monday.

In response, the country’s three internet-only banks are expanding teen-focused products and promotions. The goal is to move beyond a model in which parents open and manage cards and savings accounts for their children, and instead let teens experience everyday money management directly through app-based services.

KakaoBank, for example, has been running a “Teens Bonus” promotion since March 5 through its youth service, “KakaoBank mini.” It offers three daily random cash-back benefits for payments at teen-friendly merchants such as Daiso, Artbox and Mega MGC Coffee.

K Bank is leaning into gamification, promoting services such as “Money Mission,” which pays rewards when users complete in-app tasks, aiming to boost motivation and engagement among young customers.

Toss plans to introduce a “youth mydata” service, the first such offering in the fintech industry, it said. Toss said teens accounted for 12% of its customers as of 2025. Its affiliate Toss Bank offers an under-14 “Youth Card” and “Youth Home,” with features such as an allowance ledger and a digital piggy bank designed for easy use.

Financial companies see teen adoption of internet banks and fintech platforms as a way to secure “future customers,” betting that a first finance app used in adolescence can carry into adulthood. Overseas firms are also moving aggressively into the teen market.

In Canada, RBC runs the allowance-management app Mydoh, which lets parents assign chores and pay allowances when children complete them. RBC also encourages customers ages 6 to 14 to transition over time to student and then adult accounts. In the United States, fintech firm Greenlight goes beyond savings and check cards by offering access to stock and exchange-traded fund, or ETF, accounts, positioning it as an early investing education tool.

“Today’s youth are a generation whose daily routines — from taking the bus to buying meals and going to after-school academies — are all tied to financial transactions,” an official at an internet-only bank said. “The younger they start building structured economic education and financial experience, the better, so competition in services will only intensify.”