KB Kookmin Card Transforms from Card Company to Data Firm in AI Era

The card industry is at a significant turning point. In the past, a card company's competitiveness was determined by its number of members, merchants, and transaction volumes. However, in the AI era, data, algorithms, and customer experience are what drive competitiveness. Cards are no longer just plastic payment tools; they are evolving into data platforms that connect consumption, finance, distribution, marketing, asset management, and lifestyle services.


Kim Jae-gwan, CEO of KB Kookmin Card, is at the forefront of this transformation. Rather than being a traditional card company CEO, he is a manager who combines finance, strategy, digital technology, and AI to redesign the future of card companies. Kim's entrepreneurial vision can be summed up as 'building an AI-based lifestyle finance platform.'

Kim Jae-gwan is a true KB man. After joining Kookmin Bank in 1992, he has worked across corporate finance, strategy, and finance, serving as CFO of KB Kookmin Bank and KB Financial Group. He is recognized for his deep understanding of capital management, profitability, and risk management, which are crucial to running a financial institution.

His appointment as CEO of KB Kookmin Card was not just a routine personnel change. KB Financial Group recognized that the role of card companies is changing. The business model centered on transaction fees has reached its limits, with declining merchant fees, rising procurement costs, and intensified competition from big tech companies disrupting traditional growth formulas.

From the outset of his tenure, Kim emphasized 'execution.' In his inaugural speech, he stated that execution is the highest value. He urged the organization to transform from merely planning to producing results.

His focus has been on AI.

Card companies hold the most consumer data among financial institutions. They know best when, where, what, and how much customers spend. In the past, this data was merely statistical information. However, with the emergence of generative AI and agent AI, this data is becoming a new source of revenue.

Kim aims to transform the card company from a payment entity into a data company.

KB Kookmin Card has already introduced a generative AI-based consultation service called 'Everyone's Card Life Mate.' When customers ask questions in natural language, the AI analyzes their intent and recommends suitable card products and services. This concept is closer to a financial consultation agent than a simple chatbot. To achieve this, KB Kookmin Card has established a system for integrated management of RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) technology and AI models.

This is not just a digital innovation.

It is preparing for an era where AI understands customers, recommends products, and provides consultations.

The core project under Kim's leadership is KB Pay.

Traditionally, card companies interacted with customers only at the moment of payment. However, platform companies connect with customers throughout the day. Kim believes that card companies must evolve into platform companies.

KB Pay has grown into a leading platform in the card industry, boasting over 14 million subscribers. KB Kookmin Card is evolving it into a lifestyle finance platform rather than just a payment app.

Here, AI plays a crucial role.

KB Kookmin Card is building an agent AI-based marketing system called 'AIMs 2.0,' making it one of the first in the domestic card industry. This system analyzes customer data, automatically classifies customer segments, and recommends appropriate products and benefits. AI directly participates in formulating and executing marketing strategies.

This is an attempt to fundamentally change the paradigm of the card industry.

In the past, humans analyzed customers.

Now, AI analyzes customers.

In the past, humans designed campaigns.

Now, AI designs campaigns.

In the past, humans recommended products.

Now, AI makes personalized suggestions.

Kim is taking it a step further.

KB Kookmin Card has recently begun developing AI agents that handle customer complaints, marketing, advertising reviews, and operational support. The concept of a 'super agent' that integrates and manages these AIs is also in progress.

This is not mere automation.

AI is becoming an integral part of the organization, beyond just assisting employees.

In the future, competition among financial companies is likely to be determined not by the number of employees but by the number of AI agents.

Kim is already preparing for that future.

Kim Jae-gwan's entrepreneurial spirit leans more toward sustainable innovation than aggressive expansion.

As a corporate finance expert, he emphasizes numbers and soundness. The recent improvement in KB Kookmin Card's performance stems from cost efficiency and risk management. In the first quarter of 2026, the net profit reached 107.5 billion won, a 27.2% increase compared to the same period last year, achieved amid profitability pressures across the card industry.

However, Kim's real game-changer is AI.

He does not view AI merely as a cost-cutting tool.

He sees AI as a means of generating new revenue.

KB Kookmin Card recently announced that the number of paid subscribers for its generative AI service increased by 413% and the amount spent rose by 516% over two years.

Many see this as just a statistic.

But Kim views it differently.

In the AI era, card companies are not just payment processors.

They are the first to interpret consumer data.

That is why Kim is simultaneously pursuing AI consulting, AI marketing, AI agents, and AI data businesses.

His strategy is clear.

He aims to transform card companies into financial platforms and evolve those platforms into data platforms.

There is a strong ecosystem in KB Financial Group.

By connecting data from banks, insurance, securities, and cards, it is also possible to build the largest financial AI platform in the country.

Kim's entrepreneurial spirit lies here.

He is not a CEO trying to defend the card industry's crisis.

He is a CEO experimenting with the new face of financial companies in the AI era.

Ultimately, his success will hinge on a more important question than whether KB Kookmin Card becomes the number one card company.

Can KB Kookmin Card evolve into South Korea's top lifestyle finance platform in the AI era?

The person shaping the answer to that question is Kim Jae-gwan.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths

KB Financial Group's vast customer base and data assets are its greatest competitive advantages. CEO Kim Jae-gwan, a strategy and finance expert with experience as CFO of both the bank and holding company, excels in capital efficiency and risk management. The AI transformation strategies, including KB Pay, generative AI consulting, AIMs 2.0, and super agent development, are also industry-leading.

The card industry has entered a mature phase. There are ongoing pressures from declining merchant fees, regulations on card loans, and procurement costs. Overseas operations have yet to demonstrate sufficient profitability.

The agent AI and hyper-personalized financial markets are rapidly growing. AI payments, AI marketing, AI consulting, and data businesses are emerging as new revenue sources. There is also significant potential for KB Pay to evolve into a financial super app.

Competition with big tech platforms like Naver, Kakao, and Toss is intensifying. If the pace of AI investment slows, there is a risk of falling behind in platform competition. Strengthening privacy protection and AI regulations also pose long-term risks.

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