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Korean Job Discussion Forums
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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 Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 3:43 am Post subject: |
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My Shinhan international card worked fine for 8 years but was "lifted" a couple of weeks ago whilst I was overseas. On trying to get a replacement, my bank was embarrassed to tell me that as a foreigner I could not have a replacement. They led me to believe that this was a result of a regulation of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
The MoFE has just given a public answer to my query on their website at http://english.mofe.go.kr/etc/search.php?SW=foreigner&x=25&y=8.
The effect is that there is no law preventing banks from issuing international debit cards to foreigners. I shall be banging on the bank's door on Monday. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 4:34 am Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
My Shinhan international card worked fine for 8 years but was "lifted" a couple of weeks ago whilst I was overseas. On trying to get a replacement, my bank was embarrassed to tell me that as a foreigner I could not have a replacement. They led me to believe that this was a result of a regulation of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
The MoFE has just given a public answer to my query on their website at http://english.mofe.go.kr/etc/search.php?SW=foreigner&x=25&y=8.
The effect is that there is no law preventing banks from issuing international debit cards to foreigners. I shall be banging on the bank's door on Monday. |
I'm at my bank too on monday and if they dont i'm moving my money elsewhere.
folks now that we have this lets use it!!!!
major league props for this wangja!!!!!! |
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cangel
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: Jeonju, S. Korea
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 7:58 am Post subject: |
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| Yes, thank's for sleuthing down an answer. This is just unacceptable to be snowballed like this and our bank's should be ashamed of their behaviour. I for one would like something official and written in Korean before I go banging down my bank's door but if this is the best we can do, let the bangin' begin. |
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merkurix
Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Location: Not far from the deep end.
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 8:12 am Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
My Shinhan international card worked fine for 8 years but was "lifted" a couple of weeks ago whilst I was overseas. On trying to get a replacement, my bank was embarrassed to tell me that as a foreigner I could not have a replacement. They led me to believe that this was a result of a regulation of the Ministry of Finance and Economy.
The MoFE has just given a public answer to my query on their website at http://english.mofe.go.kr/etc/search.php?SW=foreigner&x=25&y=8.
The effect is that there is no law preventing banks from issuing international debit cards to foreigners. I shall be banging on the bank's door on Monday. |
Wow, thank you for this information. Those freakin' liars. I will proceed to raise hell at my bank on Monday. |
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Beej
Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 4:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Beej wrote: |
| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
thats a great question.
Ive printed out the link wangja posted and will take it with me to my bank (woori in hongdae). i'm prepared to call the hq and tell them if they want foreign business they better change this policy.
I wish somebody would go to the MFOE and have them send this to all banks in Korean. |
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cangel
Joined: 19 Jun 2003
Location: Jeonju, S. Korea
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
Great question considering it isn't one, but many banks doing this. Which, one could assume, is some type of conspiracy orchestrated by the heads of these institutions. |
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merkurix
Joined: 21 Dec 2006
Location: Not far from the deep end.
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
| Beej wrote: |
| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
thats a great question.
Ive printed out the link wangja posted and will take it with me to my bank (woori in hongdae). i'm prepared to call the hq and tell them if they want foreign business they better change this policy.
I wish somebody would go to the MFOE and have them send this to all banks in Korean. |
I will do the same. I can ready imagine once I show this response taken directly from the Ministry of Finance to the guys at the bank they will all proceed to run around like headless chickens for about 10 minutes until they concede and tell me that the card will now miraculously work overseas. If not, I'm switching to a bank that does. |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 5:25 pm Post subject: |
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| Beej wrote: |
| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
In answer to that, but in another place, Dogbert has posted this:-
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.... AFAIK, the situation is still the same as I described before: MOFE has issued Korean banks a statement saying that possession and use of international debit cards may enable the breach of provisions of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulations.
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But having established that there is no law against foreigners using international debit cards the banks will have to explain how their interpretation has changed since the MoFE's statement. |
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hogwonguy1979
Joined: 22 Dec 2003
Location: the racoon den
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
But having established that there is no law against foreigners using international debit cards the banks will have to explain how their interpretation has changed since the MoFE's statement. |
thats going to be the interesting one. what changed in the banks mind around dec of 05 to cause all this. thats when this "law" went into affect according to my bank last summer
btw we should be showing this to our friend at the Korea Herald, as this too is a major problem |
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Wangja
Joined: 17 May 2004
Location: Seoul, Yongsan
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Yes, I had been thinking of letters to the editors of all the major newspapers. The English press however seems not to print much that shows things local in a less-than-brilliant light. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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| hogwonguy1979 wrote: |
| Beej wrote: |
| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
thats a great question.
I've printed out the link wangja posted and will take it with me to my bank (woori in hongdae). i'm prepared to call the hq and tell them if they want foreign business they better change this policy.
I wish somebody would go to the MFOE and have them send this to all banks in Korean. |
Oh my. Oh my, my, my. I can just imagine hundreds of ticked-off, indignant waygooks stomping around the country come Monday morning, fists a'shaking, with a printout of that Q&A of Wangja's in hand. (whoever gave that answer is going to be in hot water) Just as I can see hundreds Korean bank staff shifting into Full-on Denial/Disinfo Mode. Obfuscate & quieten the irate whitey. They're a crafty, slippery crew, hard to pin down, and quick on their feet in situations like this.
I'm sure that scrap of paper isn't going to get any bank to change their internal policy then & there (if I know my Koreans, the most you'll get is embarrassed giggles), though you may want to make an extra copy, as the teller will probably wander off with it to show her coworkers and share the giggle with them, too.
All of this is unnecessary. Simply accept the fact that Koreans -- for whatever reason, and on whatever authority -- just don't want us to have this particular privilege, this form of overseas access to our money here. So let's work around it. Let's use our international credit cards, traveller's cheques, or tell our Global Wealth Managers which countries we'll likely be travelling to and have them make funds ready & available for us at local banks there. Or let's all do what I do: Have a member of your personal retinue handle all the money matters wherever you go. In fact, the Korean Tourist Advisory Board advises citizens against handling foreign currencies in an effort to prevent the spread of AIDS. |
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fiveeagles
Joined: 19 May 2005
Location: Vancouver
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 8:34 pm Post subject: |
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| Wangja wrote: |
| Beej wrote: |
| Now I ask the question: if there is no law, why did the banks do this to their foreign customers? |
In answer to that, but in another place, Dogbert has posted this:-
| Quote: |
.... AFAIK, the situation is still the same as I described before: MOFE has issued Korean banks a statement saying that possession and use of international debit cards may enable the breach of provisions of the Foreign Exchange Transaction Regulations.
.... |
But having established that there is no law against foreigners using international debit cards the banks will have to explain how their interpretation has changed since the MoFE's statement. |
I would think it also has to do with transferring money. If the banks can make 50 dollars off you by making you wire your money rather than 1 or 2 bucks with a ATM fee. I would think that has to be some major incentive.
I got my KEB card and had my mom withdraw money in Canada to deposit into my canadian accounts. Imagine if 100,000 people were doing that, then how much money would the banks lose?
That's 4.5 mil US per month at 100,000 people. I would peg it at probably more like 500,000 people. So that's more like 25 mil per month. That's not even counting international businesses that require money to be wired from Korea.
I don't know, but I'm thinking this has a lot to do with it. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Fri May 25, 2007 9:37 pm Post subject: |
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| fiveeagles wrote: |
I would think it also has to do with transferring money. If the banks can make 50 dollars off you by making you wire your money rather than 1 or 2 bucks with a ATM fee. I would think that has to be some major incentive.
I got my KEB card and had my mom withdraw money in Canada to deposit into my canadian accounts. Imagine if 100,000 people were doing that, then how much money would the banks lose?
That's 4.5 mil US per month at 100,000 people. I would peg it at probably more like 500,000 people. So that's more like 25 mil per month. That's not even counting international businesses that require money to be wired from Korea.
I don't know, but I'm thinking this has a lot to do with it. |
(Your numbers aren't realistic. Half a million foreigners, all with bank accounts in Korea, all of them overseas at the same time, all of them withdrawing funds from K-accounts... and they're doing it every month.)
If forcing customers to use the higher-fee remittance option is the real motivation here, then why do banks target so small a fraction of their total customers? Why not also deny the service to their millions of Korean customers who travel, study and vacation overseas every year? Because Koreans would squeal if they did. Hence the thread title. |
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regicide
Joined: 01 Sep 2006
Location: United States
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| Posted: Sat May 26, 2007 9:18 am Post subject: |
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| JongnoGuru wrote: |
| fiveeagles wrote: |
I would think it also has to do with transferring money. If the banks can make 50 dollars off you by making you wire your money rather than 1 or 2 bucks with a ATM fee. I would think that has to be some major incentive.
I got my KEB card and had my mom withdraw money in Canada to deposit into my canadian accounts. Imagine if 100,000 people were doing that, then how much money would the banks lose?
That's 4.5 mil US per month at 100,000 people. I would peg it at probably more like 500,000 people. So that's more like 25 mil per month. That's not even counting international businesses that require money to be wired from Korea.
I don't know, but I'm thinking this has a lot to do with it. |
(Your numbers aren't realistic. Half a million foreigners, all with bank accounts in Korea, all of them overseas at the same time, all of them withdrawing funds from K-accounts... and they're doing it every month.)
If forcing customers to use the higher-fee remittance option is the real motivation here, then why do banks target so small a fraction of their total customers? Why not also deny the service to their millions of Korean customers who travel, study and vacation overseas every year? Because Koreans would squeal if they did. Hence the thread title. |
Exactly. That is why it is called discrimination. Because it is true, the banks do stand to lose on the loss of fees. But keep in mind , it is less that 20,000 won here , not 50, 000. I pay exactly 17,000 to send my money every month. The FRB in the States gets 18 dollars and my bank in the states gets 10, but it is only 17,000 here. And, they should be making money from the "spread" between the buy and sell of the currency plus a built in fee which could possibly be W5000 per transaction. (that is just a guess) So, they ARE making money on these transactions.
Nevertheless, the Koreans do it too, it in far bigger way than we do. The banks just had an excuse to do this to us because we had no way of knowing better. But , I hate to say, they are a business and as the old story goes, " they have the right to refuse business to anyone" . BUT, they should not be able to discriminate. This would be true in a lawful, modern country , so don't expect that standard here.
I think most of us want that card for vacations, visa runs and such MORE THAN getting money back home on the cheap. It should be a no brainer. I have personally seen Korean students with a US debit card with a cirrus AND Master Card logo back home.
This is a bunch of crap.
Why not just get a Korean friend co-worker to open an account for you? What would be the big deal for them in doing that? |
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