The financial authorities are set to formalize the online deposit comparison and recommendation service, which has been operating as an innovative financial service. Going forward, these platforms will be required to compare products from at least three financial institutions, and the provision of prizes or cashbacks exceeding 30,000 won per transaction will be restricted.
The Financial Services Commission announced on the 28th that it will notify changes to the 'Supervisory Regulations on Financial Consumer Protection' by November 9.
This amendment aims to officially register online deposit brokerage services, including deposit comparison and recommendation, prepaid account bank linkage, and e-commerce settlement, under the Financial Consumer Protection Act, which have been operating as innovative financial services since November 2022.
New registration requirements for online deposit product sales agents and brokers will be established. These will follow the registration criteria for loan product sales agents and brokers, while also setting educational standards and conflict of interest prevention measures tailored to the characteristics of deposit products.
The verification of algorithms will be strengthened to prevent distortion of product arrangements based on commissions and other factors. The verification institutions will expand from one, currently Koscom, to three, including Koscom, the Financial Security Institute, and the Financial Settlement Institute. Sales brokers will be required to undergo algorithm re-verification at least once a year.
New regulations will also be introduced regarding the sales activities related to comparison and recommendation on these platforms. While exceptions to the 'exclusive representation of one financial institution' rule will be recognized, platforms will be mandated to compare and recommend products from at least three financial institutions.
The provision of special benefits, such as prizes and cashbacks exceeding 30,000 won per transaction, will be prohibited. The scale of brokerage for deposit products from financial institutions on each platform will be limited to 1% of the previous year's new deposit and savings amounts for that institution, and products from institutions that have received corrective measures will not be brokered.
The obligations to compare and recommend products from at least three financial institutions and to re-verify algorithms will also apply to online loan product sales agents and brokers. The prohibition on providing special benefits will be extended to all loan product sales agents and brokers.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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